Covenant
by denise1
Summary: On a mission, SG-1 makes a most extraordinary find, and solves an ancient mystery


**Covenant**

by

**Denise**

Thanks to JSC for the title...don't you just hate it when you have a good one all picked out and someone else beats ya to it.

The seventh chevron lit up and, with a mechanical groan, the Naquadah circle spat out an illusory column of water. The surface snapped back like a giant blue rubber band. Within minutes the rippling cerulean surface discharged four green clad people. Colonel Jack O'Neill strolled down the steps of the dais on which the stargate was located and swept the horizon, his MP-5 held at the ready. Seeing no danger, which was pretty much the way it was supposed to be, he let his rifle drop, suspended by its strap and reached for his sunglasses. "Carter, send the MALP back," he ordered as he surveyed his surroundings once more, this time looking at the scenery rather than scanning for any signs of danger. "Well mark PXN913 down in your diaries kids. Planet # 198 with the same damned trees," Jack groused as Major Samantha Carter pressed down on the center red crystal of the DHD and re-established the wormhole to Earth.

She pushed up her left sleeve and entered the 10 digit iris code as Daniel Jackson and Teal'c joined Jack in surveying the landscape. "Carter to SGC. MALP ready for retrieval."

"We read you Major." They all heard through their radios. "Stand clear sirs and we'll bring it home," Master Sgt. Davis instructed. Daniel took a couple steps back as the equipment laden silver rover started to move towards the gate.

"You know sir, you really should watch what you say about the trees," Sam said as the bulky machine climbed the steps and started to make its way through the event horizon. "The way our luck runs, there'll be a day when you'll WISH you had a tree to hide behind."

"Hey, long as it's not those freaking sand dunes the Tok'ra seem so fond of, I'll make do," Jack said.

"Colonel, I've explained about the how the Tok'ra prefer desert planets since the sand hides the tons of material shifted when they grow the underground tunnels," Sam explained patiently.

"Yeah Carter I know. I just like it better when Dad comes to Earth. Last time we were on a Tok'ra planet it took me days to get the sand outta my..."

"MALP received SG-1," Sgt. Davis said, unknowingly cutting Jack off in mid rant. "Have a good mission and we'll see you in 3 Earth days."

"Affirmative SGC. Don't have too much fun while we're gone. O'Neill out," Jack answered as the wormhole disengaged with an audible snap. Jack turned to face the rest of his team. "Well campers, we can all go with Carter and get her samples then backtrack to Danny's ruins or we can do ruins first and dirt second. Either way, we're gonna spend about 6 hours commuting," Jack said. The UAV fly-over had shown the stargate to be nestled in a small valley in between two ranges of foothills, each several hundred feet high. There were a couple of small streams running through the trees in the low places in the tall grass, most likely created from rain run-off from the hills. Chances were, if it rained hard enough, half the valley would be under water. Located almost perpendicular from the gate to the left was a ruined temple Daniel wanted to explore. Almost directly opposite the temple, with the stargate in the middle, were the strongest readings of Naquadah where Sam wanted to gather her samples.

"Or, Major Carter and I could obtain the samples and rendezvous with you and Daniel Jackson tomorrow," Teal'c suggested.

"You know I'm not fond of splitting us up," Jack said.

"The UAV didn't show any signs of life Jack," Daniel reminded, not so secretly eager to spend a few more hours exploring and a few less hiking.

"Like it's never been wrong before," Jack muttered. "Carter?"

Sam shrugged. "Daniel's right sir. There are no signs of life."

Jack looked from the dark placid face of Teal'c, to the earnest face of his 2IC to the plainly eager face of Daniel. He debated silently for a second then sighed. "I've got a bad feeling I'm gonna regret this but Carter you and Teal'c go gather your dirt. Daniel and I'll go play with his rocks. You guys can join up with us by noon tomorrow. Check in every hour or I'll make you all watch the last 10 Stanley Cups. I do have them on tape you know," Jack mockingly threatened.

"Yes sir," Sam replied with a grin as Teal'c nodded.

Jack watched half of his team walk off then he turned to Daniel. "I believe your ruins are that way," he said as they started off in the opposite direction.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Don't let the bed bugs bite." Major Samantha Carter heard her CO advise over the radio.

"Yes sir," she answered with a smile as she screwed the lid on her last bottle of soil and returned it to its cushioned place in the box. She stuck the container in her pack, snapped it shut and stood up, stretching to relieve the muscles in her lower back.

"That's the last one Teal'c," she told her friend. "Any suggestion on where we camp tonight?" she asked, surveying their surroundings. The MALP had suggested the strongest concentrations of Naquadah in the foothills she and Teal'c were standing on. If she strained her eyes, she could just make out the ramshackle temple where the colonel and Daniel were far off across the valley, butted up against another range of hills. The huge red sun was starting to set, bathing the countryside with an almost un-earthly glow. 'Duh.' Sam thought to herself. Unearthly was an understatement. PXN913 was about 86 light years from Earth. It was the fifth planet from its sun but probably had been seventh or eighth before the sun had started to expand. She guessed they had only a couple of thousand years before the sun would go nova. More than enough time to mine the Naquadah that, if her tests agreed with what the remnant of Jolinar was telling her, was in the hills.

This really was a beautiful planet. With no obvious signs of Goa'uld hostilities and no evidence of natural disasters Sam wondered why the indigenous people had left.

"I spotted a small copse of trees in that direction," Teal'c said, pointing off to their right. "It should be a most defensible camp," he continued as he helped clip Sam's pack to her vest.

"Sounds good," she replied, nodding her thanks and shifting her rifle to a more comfortable position. "At least we won't have to listen to the colonel snore tonight," she said as she followed Teal'c to his chosen camp site.

"Indeed," he replied. "I wonder how a warrior as well trained as O'Neill has not mastered the art of sleeping silently?"

Sam chuckled. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear he does it on purpose just to annoy us," she said with a smile.

"That is a possibility," Teal'c said, a ghost of a smile on his normally placid face. Sam hid a grin. Most of the people on the base thought the large Jaffa was like Mr. Spock. An emotionless alien. In reality Teal'c had a lively sense of humor. He just chose to demonstrate it very rarely. Though, he had loosened up a bit in the last few months.

'Give him a few more years and we'll probably be able to get a laugh out of him,' she thought. "So Teal'c," she said. "Do you want to cook or gather fire wood?" she asked him, turning to her friend. She saw a look of horror cross his face in the same instant she felt the ground give way under her booted feet. She let out a small scream as she fell into the darkness. Her last conscious recollection was of a sickening thud next to her as Teal'c too fell victim to the trap.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"It's 2000. Do you know where your major is?" Jack asked Sam and Teal'c as he sat on the floor of the temple watching Daniel work a few yards away.

"We're here colonel. I'm almost done with my samples sir. We'll be able to set out at first light."

"10-4 Major," Jack said. "Don't let the bed bugs bite."

"Yes sir," he heard her respond. Jack released the mike and turned his attention back to Daniel who was patiently studying the walls of the temple, trying to decipher the writings upon them.

"Come on Daniel," he said, getting to his feet. "Sun's going down. Time to set up camp," Jack casually ordered. When they'd arrived and seen the dilapidated state of the ancient structure, they'd both agreed it would be far safer to camp outside rather than in the building like they'd originally planned.

"Jack. We've got hours of daylight left," Daniel protested, over his shoulder.

"Maybe," he agreed with a shrug. "But lunch, if you could call it that, was too long ago. I'm hungry and you're cooking," he said, reaching his friend's side and punctuating his words with a gentle finger to Daniel's arm.

"Just five more minutes," Daniel pleaded. "I'm nearly done with this wall. If I stop now I'll have to start all over in the morning," he reasoned out.

Jack made a show of setting the timer on his watch. "Five minutes. Then I drag you outside," he threatened kindly. In reality Jack figured they had over an hour of daylight left so he set his alarm for thirty minutes knowing by then it would be getting so dark that Daniel would have to quit.

After three years of camping on alien worlds, they could have their tents pitched and dinner warming up in no time.

Despite the presence of way too many trees, this really wasn't a bad planet. Not too hot, not too cold. The stargate, temple and Naquadah deposits conveniently located in this picturesque little valley, even if they were a bit too far apart for his liking.

As Daniel lost himself again in his translations, Jack surreptitiously joined him. He may not know the language, who needed to know 23 anyway, but the artwork on the walls WAS interesting. Though, to tell the truth, the scribbles looked more like some of Charlie's and Merrin's early experiments with crayons. Jack restricted himself to just looking at the pictures.

As he scanned the wall, one figure caught his eye. He leaned in for a closer look. Either his eyes were playing tricks on him or that one looked suspiciously like... "Oh Daniel. Would you come here?" he said in a sing-song voice. If this was what he thought it was Danny was going to have a cow. And Jack would not only be cooking both their dinners, he'd most likely be forcing Daniel to eat his.

Hearing no response, Jack looked over to his friend. "Daniel," he said, his voice a bit sharper.

Daniel looked up, distracted. "I'm almost done. Just...just a couple more minutes."

"Daniel. Come look at this and you can have 10," Jack bargained.

"OK. OK. What?" he asked, getting to his feet, leaving his notes behind on the floor, a bit of exasperation in his voice. Geez, the way he was carrying on you'd think Jack just discovered ESPN in the temple.

The room jumped and Daniel thrust out a hand, relieved to feel the reassuring surface of the temple wall under his fingertips. How long had Jack said it'd been since lunch? Maybe he'd take a break now. If he passed out from low blood sugar he'd never hear the end of it. Daniel fought to keep the unsteadiness he felt off his face as he looked toward Jack.

"DANIEL! OUTSIDE NOW!!" Jack yelled, plunging towards his friend. In an instant, Daniel realized it wasn't hunger making the room lurch, it was an earthquake.

Jack's hand grabbed his arm with bruising force as he pulled him toward the entrance and the relative safety of the outside.

"My notes," Daniel gasped as he resisted. Jack looked at his friend in amazement as a piece of the ceiling crashed down beside them, shattering and filling the air with dust and chips of marble.

"LATER!" he yelled.

"Right," Daniel agreed, shrugging free of Jack's grasp and sprinting towards the door.

Jack heard the tortured groaning and popping of ancient stone, stressed beyond its breaking point. He dared a glance upwards and almost stopped in his tracks as he saw the blocks defying gravity, dancing against each other. The absurd image of Wile Coyote futilely spinning his legs as he ran off a cliff flashed across his brain as the blocks lost their battle with gravity and began to crash around him, like two ton hailstones in a summer thunderstorm.

Adrenaline gave him an extra burst of speed as he dodged the bombs that kept getting between him and the outside.

'Dammit. Knew we shoulda gone with Carter and Teal'c to play in the dirt,' he thought as he desperately dove for the door, escorted by tons of rubble. 'Daniel damn well better be outside or I'll kill him,' he thought as pain and darkness overwhelmed him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The smell of dirt. That was the first thing Teal'c was aware of. It was odd. No matter the planet, dirt always smelled the same.

The second thing floating into his consciousness was pain. A sharp, stabbing, agonizing pain in his left leg. It was second only to the daggers that shot through his head as he forced his eyes to open. He blinked to clear his blurry vision and slowly brought up one shaky hand to explore the source of his discomfort. His breath hissed through his teeth as he found a large gash right above his tattoo.

The third thing he became aware of was the sound of breathing coming from nearby. Major Carter. There had been a small ground quake. They'd fallen. Was his team mate injured also? He carefully propped himself up on his elbows and tried to penetrate the darkness to see his friend.

"Major Carter," he said, barely able to make out the pale glint of the moonlight reflecting off her light skin. "Major Carter," he repeated, growing concerned with her continued silence.

"Yeah," he heard her whisper as the dark shape moved slightly.

"Are you injured?" he asked, vaguely wondering if he could make it to her side. If they were both severely injured, their situation was grave.

"I'll...ahhh...I'll let you know in a minute." He heard her gasp and groan as she pushed herself up. "Whoa," she said, taking in a sharp breath.

"Major Carter?" he asked a third time.

"I'm OK Teal'c," she said softly. "My ribs don't like me much right now but I'm OK," she stated, almost as if she were reassuring herself. "How about you?" she asked as he heard her crawl closer.

"My left leg is badly broken," he stated as she touched his arm.

"Just a second." He heard her unclip her pack and pull open the pockets. "Has to be in here somewhere," she mumbled. "Here we go," he heard as he made out a tiny click and they both winced at the sudden burst of brightness as she snapped on her flash light. "Sorry," she apologized as she gave their surroundings a cursory scan. The beam revealed rough stone walls, damp in spots with moisture. She saw at least two tunnels leading off in different directions. She felt a faint breeze and the light that was too bright a moment ago suddenly seemed far too tiny as it was swallowed up by one of the tunnels. They must have fallen into some kind of cave system. Satisfying her curiosity, and reasonably sure if there was danger, Teal'c would have noticed it, Sam turned her attention back to her companion. She aimed the light at his leg, grimacing at the dark stain of blood through his fatigues.

She handed him the flash light and unsheathed her knife.

"This might hurt," she warned.

"I understand," he said, preparing himself as she carefully cut his fatigue pants to expose the wound. He saw her blanch and close her eyes for a second.

"It's aah...it's bad Teal'c," she admitted grudgingly, swallowing convulsively at the sight of white bone poking through torn flesh. "How well does Junior handle compound fractures?"

"My symbiote will aid in preventing infection and allowing the bone to knit at a faster rate than a human. However, it often takes two to three weeks for a broken bone to heal fully."

Sam nodded as she gently loosened his boot so she could pull the cuff of his pants free and bare the skin of his ankle. "Can you feel your foot?" she asked, relieved to find warm skin under her fingertips.

"Yes."

"Good. There doesn't seem to be any arterial damage. Teal'c, I know the best thing is to set the bone but quite frankly I'm afraid to. Right now you have good circulation and there doesn't appear to be any nerve damage. I'm afraid if I start yanking on it I'll do more harm than good. I think maybe we should call the colonel and Daniel, get them here and get you home."

"That would be a most reasonable course of action," he agreed, privately glad for the chance to return to Earth. The pain was increasing and threatened to overwhelm him.

Sam nodded and reached for her radio. Just as she pressed the transmit button she heard the soft murmur of voices echoing from one of the tunnels. She spun around, grabbing for her rifle, sincerely hoping the weapon hadn't been damaged in the fall. She heard Teal'c grunt as he snapped off the flashlight and reached for his staff weapon.

The darkness of one of the tunnels was soon broken by the faint flickering of fire light.

"Worthless MALP," she breathed as the voices drew closer. 'Should've gone to the temple,' she thought as the approaching people rounded a bend in the tunnel and came into view.

She saw the leader hold up his hand, indicating his followers stop as he caught sight of the pair before him.

"Who are you?" he demanded, his left hand going to the short sword he wore strapped at his waist.

Sam's eyes darted across the dozen or so individuals she could see. They were all dressed in some type of home spun clothing, reminding her vaguely of the clothes the Abydonians wore. With her automatic rifle and Teal'c's staff they could make short work of the people. If they were into cold-blooded murder.

"My name is Major Samantha Carter. My friend and I are peaceful explorers from Earth. We mean you no harm. We fell down here and my friend is hurt," Sam said, trying to gauge their reactions.

The leader seemed to think a moment, then drew his sword. Sam snapped up her rifle and heard Teal'c arm his staff weapon as the rest followed suit.

"Don't," Sam said. "We don't want to hurt you but we will defend ourselves." She saw movement in their ranks as a figure stepped up from the back.

Sam saw the woman put a staying hand on the leader's sword arm. "Xander, is this how we treat guests?" she asked.

Sam saw annoyance flash across the leader's face. "Not guests woman. Strangers," he said coldly.

"Guests. That we outnumber," she insisted as she stepped forward, her hands outstretched to show her lack of ill intent. Sam gave the woman an appraising look as she lowered her rifle a bit. She was older, her black hair liberally laced with silver. While her dark face was weathered, it was unlined, giving her an ageless quality.

Xander sighed, sheathing his sword and motioning for the rest to do the same. "Very well Ratchel. But their behavior is on your head," he warned.

Sam glanced at Teal'c and he lowered his weapon while she let hers hang by its strap. "Look. We don't want to be any trouble. If you could just help us out of here we'll leave," Sam offered, moving closer to Teal'c.

Ratchel knelt at his side and examined his leg. "Your man will not be able to walk for many weeks. It is a very bad break."

Sam joined her but at Teal'c's small shake, she didn't refute the woman's assumption. "True. But if we make a travois I can drag him," Sam said as she dug in her pack for the first aid kit. She opened it, found some gauze and began to clean the blood off the Jaffa's forehead. She saw pain beginning to glaze his eyes and realized, despite his incredible fortitude, he wouldn't be conscious much longer.

"I have never seen medicine like this," the woman said, examining the sterile white paper the gauze had been wrapped in.

"I'd be happy to tell you about it," Sam offered. "If you need medical assistance, once I get Teal'c home we can come back and help you. This is just a kit. We have better medicines at home."

"That would be nice," the woman said, exploring the contents of the pack as Sam continued to clean the blood off her friend's head.

"It doesn't look too bad Teal'c. Janet will get to practice her stitching on you for a change," she reassured, her efforts revealing his tattoo.

"What is this?" the woman asked, pulling out Sam's sample case and opening it.

"Just some samples. We think your planet is rich in a mineral we call Naquadah. If it is we'd like to work out a trade. Maybe some of our medicines for..." Sam stopped at the clatter of swords being drawn again from their sheaths.

"A demon!" Ratchel exclaimed in horror, scrambling to her feet and pulling away.

"We must kill it now, before it draws its leader back."

"What?" Sam asked, getting to her feet and picking up her rifle. "He's not a demon. He's a Jaffa and he won't hurt you."

"He is the spawn of the devil, servant of the one who brought us here," Xander spat out.

"NO. He's not. Teal'c used to work for the Goa'uld but he helps us now," Sam insisted.

"And for this we have your word," the man said skeptically.

"Yes. That and the fact we offered to leave before. That offer stands. We'll go in peace and never return."

"My lord," another man spoke up. "If they leave they will go to the Dark One and tell him we still live. We will be doomed again."

"Xander. This is far too grave a decision for one to make. Let us take it before the Knesset," Ratchel spoke up.

Xander thought a moment. "You will come with us. The Knesset will decide your fate," he declared, his tone telling them they had no choice.

Sam looked at Teal'c and realized there was no way for them to escape, short of her murdering all of them. She reluctantly handed over her rifle and stepped back as four of the men came forward with a litter onto which they placed an unconscious Teal'c. They were led into a labyrinth of tunnels. Within minutes the tunnel was empty, only a scattering of footprints and a couple of wads of bloody gauze left behind as the only evidence anyone had ever been there.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Daniel was having a dream. Jack wanted to go to a hockey game and he didn't want to go so Jack was twisting his arm...hard. He tried to tell Jack to stop. It hurt. But he wouldn't listen, he just beeped and twisted harder. So Daniel responded by reaching out, pulling down a piece of the sky and conking Jack over the head.

Daniel forced his eyes open, seeing a few clouds scudding across the star speckled sky. Now wait a minute. If he'd pulled the sky down on Jack, what were all those stars doing up there?

No. It wasn't the sky, it was an earthquake...would it still be called an earthquake if they weren't on Earth...PXN913 quake?...nah, too long...ground quake, that worked...the temple, its ceiling...all the blocks...Jack!

With a desperate gasp Daniel forced himself to sit up as memories displaced dreams.

Oh God. The temple. It collapsed. Jack was behind him.

"Jack?" he called out, not caring that his voice was more than a little shaky.

Receiving no response, he rolled to his stomach, forcing his arms underneath his chest and pushing himself up. He gasped and quickly shifted his weight to his right arm as pain shot through his left. Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth against a wave of nausea, he managed to sit up, doing a quick inventory.

Realizing everything was present and accounted for, if a bit bruised and scraped, he squinted and carefully held his left arm closer to his face as he gingerly wiggled his fingers.

The moonlight concealed more than it revealed, but judging by the size of the tear in his jacket sleeve and the fact that he could feel the warmth of his own blood running down to his finger tips, he figured there was a good sized gash concealed by his clothing.

Great. More of Janet's embroidery. Someday when he died for real, some poor ME was going to go nuts trying to figure out exactly how an archaeologist got so many scars.

At least Jack and Sam had the excuse of being in the military...wait Jack. Where's Jack?

Daniel forced himself to unsteady feet and tried not to fall flat on his face as he navigated his way around debris from the fallen temple.

For once he was glad to hear that annoying beeping of Jack's alarm as he used it as a homing beacon to locate his fallen friend.

He found him amongst, fortunately not under, the rubble. Daniel closed his eyes in a second of silent prayer as his trembling fingers found the steady, if a bit thready, pulse on Jack's blood smeared neck. He reached for his pack, cursing under his breath as he remembered it, and the supplies contained within, were still in the temple, probably buried and lost. He remembered Jack dropping his pack right outside the door. Daniel searched for and found it. Pulling out the flashlight, Daniel snapped it on and shone it at Jack. He groaned as he saw all the blood. Looking closer he realized one of the blocks had shattered, literally in Jack's face. The razor sharp shards of marble gouging a dozen tiny cuts all over his face. Even all taken together, they were far from life threatening. Chances are most of them wouldn't even need stitches. What Daniel was worried about was that some of the cuts were perilously close to Jack's eyes. And if any of those shards had penetrated the delicate tissues of his friend's eyes, the damage would be irreversible. He remembered a man he'd met once on a dig. The old man had been too close to a carelessly set explosive. He still got a chill at the memory of sightless white orbs set in a scar riddled face.

He couldn't let this happen to Jack. His friend was...is a soldier. And the US Air Force has no use for sightless officers. 'Stop it Daniel,' he told himself. He could almost hear Jack giving him hell about being too negative.

Drawing on years of experience, Daniel made a quick decision.

Pulling first aid supplies out of the pack, he carefully wrapped Jack's eyes hoping to minimize the damage, if there was any. Soon, the healthy tan of Jack's face was half obscured by brilliant white bandages, Daniel set himself to checking Jack for any other injuries. Fortunately all he found was a nice goose egg hidden under Jack's ball cap. Not bad, all things considered. This time they'd both escaped with cuts and bruises. Daniel refused to accept Jack was blind, permanently anyway. It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings, Jack had once said. Daniel removed his jacket and awkwardly wrapped a bandage around his left arm. It hurt like hell, but he'd had worse.

Wounds patched, he set himself to setting up camp. He tried to ignore just how eerily silent it was when you were basically alone, in the dark, on an alien planet.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Henry the 8th I am, Henry the 8th I am, I am...

Someone was killing a cat. Jack just knew it. No. Someone was torturing him with off-key singing.

I got married to the widow next door...she was married seven times before...

Definitely torture. Not quite sure if he was up to putting the cat out of its misery, he settled for checking for damage. He felt the texture of his sleeping bag under his hands, heard the faint rustle of the material as he cautiously shifted his position, relieving the pressure of a small rock poking him in his back. He bit back a groan as various muscles told him just HOW much they didn't like him right now.

Terrific, not only did he have to lie here and listen to someone butchering a stupid song, he had to be in pain while it happened. Uh huh. Forget it. He'd just drag Danny out of his temple and go home...Wait a minute. Daniel...the temple...the roof...

Second verse same as the first.. I'm Henry the 8th I am...

No. They were torturing Daniel. No. Daniel was torturing HIM. "Daniel," he forced out, unable to contain the groan as he realized the simple act of talking hurt.

"Jack," he heard over the crackle of a fire. Wait a minute. If there was a fire, why was it so dark? "Jack. Don't open your eyes," Daniel instructed urgently, as Jack heard him plop down at his side, gently restraining the arm Jack had been raising towards his face.

"What?" Jack asked, fighting the urge to do just what he'd been advised against.

"Jack. I think there might be some kind of debris in your eyes. Your face is cut up. In case there's anything in your eyes, if you try to move them you might make it worse. Do you understand me?"

"Yeah," Jack said quietly, his mind flooding with the implications of Danny's diagnosis. "Anything else I should know?"

"Well. You'll have to tell me, but I think it's just cuts and bruises," Daniel said slowly as Jack carefully pushed himself up to a sitting position, relieved when nothing hurt...too much.

"I'll live," he confirmed. "Carter and Teal'c?"

Daniel shook his head, then castigating himself over the thoughtlessness and futility of the gesture, spoke up. "My radio's still in the temple. I tried to call them on yours but there was no answer."

"Well that's not good."

"I know. But you've been unconscious for hours and ...well it's still dark. We can't do much about it until morning."

"OK. So we'll make our way back to the gate, get some help and do a search," Jack planned, intensely worried what damage the ground quake may have done to the rest of his team, and cursing himself that if it wasn't for him, they could be well on their way to helping them.

"Jack. That won't work."

"Why the hell not?" Jack asked, letting his annoyance show.

"Sam has the GDO."

"There's a spare."

"In my pack, UNDER the temple."

"What the hell is it doing in your pack?" Jack demanded.

"That's where you told me to keep it," Daniel replied.

Jack stopped and thought. "I hate it when you're right."

"I figure we know about where they are. And I'm assuming they'll head towards the gate. That's what they were planning to do last time you spoke with them. So we'll head towards the gate, if we haven't caught up with them by then, we'll leave a note on the DHD, telling Hammond what's going on and continue on towards where they were headed. If we're lucky, all four of us can be waiting by the DHD when Hammond starts to look for us. We've got two days."

"Two days, ten miles. Think I can do that," Jack said. Actually, he WOULD do that. It was bad enough he was going to be a hindrance, but he'd be damned before his injury prevented anyone on his team from getting help.

He heard Daniel step away, then return. "Here," he said, gently grabbing Jack's left hand and pressing something warm into it.

"What?"

"Dinner," Daniel replied as he handed Jack a spoon.

"You cooked?"

"You know the rule. He who bleeds doesn't get KP. Label says it's spaghetti."

"It'll taste like chicken," Jack said, playing the game.

"Probably," Daniel replied, pretending not to notice when Jack spilled some of his dinner on the ground. He knew he'd have to give Jack time...time and space to deal with his...injury. Right now he was pretending like nothing was wrong. Just like how Sam told him he'd ignored his broken ribs until he'd started coughing up blood. Just like he'd pretended nothing had been wrong after Hathor had stuck a Goa'uld in him. Daniel knew his friend hated to show weakness. He'd hide his pain and fear as long as he could. He'd pretend it didn't exist until it either went away or he passed out.

And the only thing Daniel could do was be there to either give whatever help Jack would allow or be prepared to help pick up the pieces.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam tried to count the twists and turns of the tunnel, hoping she could remember the way out. However, after the tenth left and sixth...or was it seventh right, she gave up and concentrated on their captors.

They didn't seem too overtly hostile. Then again they weren't incredibly friendly either. And the Goa'uld had at least been on this planet, if their reactions to Teal'c had been any indication. She just hoped they weren't still here. The last thing she needed right now was to have to deal with a snakehead. Snakehead? Great. She'd definitely been hanging around the colonel too long.

She saw her escorts slow and douse their torches as they rounded a bend in the tunnels, revealing a large cavern, she guessed about the size of a few dozen gaterooms. She saw several people of all ages moving in and out of islands of torch light.

"You live here?" she asked. Their living under ground would at least explain the MALP's inability to reveal their presence.

"We have not lived on the surface for many years," Ratchel replied.

"Why? Is something wrong with the surface?" Sam asked, concerned that her friends could be facing a hidden danger.

"The surface..." Ratchel began, only to be cut off by Xander.

"The surface is death," he stated coldly.

"Why?" Sam was getting more worried. The MALP hadn't shown any bacterial or environmental hazards, but it was hardly batting a 1000 lately.

"No more questions," Xander ordered. "Should you make any threatening moves I will dispatch you and the demon," he threatened.

"I told you we come in peace," Sam insisted, silently adding that she and Teal'c could have murdered the whole bunch of them had that been their wish.

She didn't resist as she was instructed to surrender the rest of their equipment.

They proceeded through the barren stone, well streets wasn't exactly the right word since the only vehicles she saw were simple two wheeled carts or wheelbarrows but it was close enough.

The ...passageways, that was a better word, passageways were lined with low houses, some made of stones, some seemingly carved from the living rock. There was a pervasive dampness in the air th at made the normal subterranean chill seem almost cold. The air was also heavy with the smell of mildew and mud. There was a faint haze of smoke in the air from various cooking fires, giving the chamber an almost dreamlike quality. At least it was warmer than the last time she'd been stuck in a cave she thought as they were led into a small circular building in the center of the town.

Sam knelt to check on a now conscious Teal'c while one of Xander's men ran to summon the Knesset members.

She heard a soft melodic chiming and, at his insistence, helped Teal'c sit up, then stood by his side as the five members of the Knesset filed into the chamber. She watched the quintet of older, well she guessed they were in their fifties or sixties, men take their seats.

They were all garbed in robes like Xander and his men, but theirs were in richer colors and adorned with bits of embroidery while Xander's were in earth tones and unadorned.

Living in caves like they did, she guessed the color choices were a type of camouflage.

"You are strangers here?" the bearded man in the middle questioned, obviously the leader of the council.

"Yes. My friend and I are peaceful explorers."

"Peaceful, yet you carry what we believe to be weapons," the elder said, motioning towards Sam's rifle, pistol, knife and Teal'c's staff weapon which had been laid on the ground before them, visible but safely out of reach.

"We are trained to defend ourselves," Teal'c said.

"We could have injured your people had we wished to do harm. We didn't."

"Perhaps you were so 'benevolent' because you needed their aid," another elder said. "The severity of your companion's injury would have kept you trapped in the tunnels. Not killing them suited your purposes."

"With respect, we didn't ask to come here. Your people could have left us in the tunnel and we would have left. We will leave. If you could take us to the surface, we'll go away and never return," Sam offered, knowing full well they would refuse. If these people really had been under Goa'uld rule, they would be fools to let her and Teal'c go. Still there was a slight chance.

"You travel with a demon. That makes you a servant of the Dark One." Then again, maybe not.

"We cannot let them go. They will bring the Dark One back. Should he discover the truth, he will return to enslave us, to take us with him to hell." Sam shot a glance at Teal'c, wondering if he caught the elder's meaning. While she would never describe being a slave of the Goa'uld as a walk in the proverbial park, there was one Goa'uld who had a particular fascination with hell.

"Do you mean Sokar? Is he the one who brought you here?" she asked, totally unprepared for the reaction of their 'hosts'. Amid gasps of horror, the members of the Knesset made some kind of gesture analogous to crossing themselves, but not quite like that. Xander stepped forward and slapped her, hard enough to make her falter, but not quite with enough force to send her to her knees. She quickly held out a restraining hand towards Teal'c, who was struggling to come to her aid. "Teal'c, it's OK," she insisted as Xander stepped closer, almost touching her.

"Do not speak HIS name!" he ordered harshly. "You will draw him here."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know," Sam apologized, rubbing her sore cheek. "Look if...HE'S your enemy, then we have something in common. He's our enemy too. Maybe we can help you. We can get you weapons to defend yourselves. The woman, Ratchel, was interested in our medicines. We can help you."

"And the price for this 'help'?"

"We think your planet is rich in a mineral we call Naquadah. Maybe we can work out a trade?"

"Hah," Xander snorted in derision. "You will not TRADE. You will do like the Dark One before you. You will TAKE what you want," he said bitterly.

"NO! We won't," Sam insisted.

Xander stepped forward and pulled Sam's sample case out of her pack. He opened it and withdrew a vial. Even through the glass of the tube, the quartz like crystals of the Naquadah in the soil glittered slightly in the fire light. "You have stolen from us once already."

"We did not know the planet was inhabited. Had we known that, we would have sought your permission before Major Carter took her samples."

"So you claim."

"Yes. Look, we're telling the truth. What will it take to make you believe us?"

"Perhaps this." They all turned to see Ratchel entering the chamber, gently leading a very old and frail looking woman.

Xander left Sam's side and walked over to the women. "What is the meaning of this? She has no place here," he said, indicating the woman.

"She lives among us. She has just as much right here as do I," Ratchel stated, ignoring Xander and continuing to lead the woman into the room. "Dinah has paid for her sins and accepted our ways. You know she is the only one among us who can divine the truth." Ratchel looked to the lead elder, and after gaining his nod of assent, led Dinah towards Sam and Teal'c.

Sam watched as the woman reached out and lightly held her right hand over Teal'c's belly. She saw a strange look cross his face. "Teal'c?" she asked, concerned, moving a step closer. She stopped when Xander placed himself in her path.

"There is no cause for alarm Major Carter."

"The child you carry. It is not mature yet?" Dinah asked, her voice tinted with a slightly different accent than the others.

"No. It will not be so for several more years."

"And then?"

"Then I will discard it and carry another larva or we will both die. This Goa'uld will never take a host."

She nodded. "Which Goa'uld do you serve? I see the mark of Apophis upon you."

"I serve no false god. I fight along side Major Carter and others of the Tau'ri against the Goa'uld."

"The Tau'ri are a myth." Dinah shook her head dismissively.

"They are in fact quite real. The Tau'ri are of the first world." The woman didn't respond, but merely held out her hand for Ratchel to help her to her feet. She turned and made her way over to Sam.

Sam forced herself to hold still as the woman drew close, seeming to stare right through her with piercing pale green eyes. Now that she was closer, Sam could see the few remaining strands of a vibrant auburn color in her mostly gray hair. This woman would have been a great beauty in her youth. Sam drew herself up and forced herself to meet the woman's gaze. She, or more accurately, a remnant of Jolinar felt something. There was something about this woman, a sense of deja vu. She saw realization dawn in Dinah's eyes signaling that she felt it too. "You were a host," Sam whispered.

"As were you."

"Aah. Yes. I carried a Tok'ra named Jolinar for a bit."

"The Dark One, he once spoke of her." Seeing Sam's puzzled look, she explained. "I was once his queen."

"You were..." remembering Xander's reaction, Sam stopped herself. "But?"

"How did I get here? My husband set me aside nearly half a century ago. He left me here, marooned me here."

"But can't you leave through the stargate?"

Dinah shook her head, pulling down the neck of her robe she revealed a thick golden torque, looking far too heavy for her slender neck. "Should I attempt to go through the chaap'pai this will explode, destroying all who live here. Both Delilah and I agreed to remain here until our death."

"Delilah?"

"She was my symbiote. She died many years ago. I survived." With that, Dinah turned from Sam to address the elders. "She speaks the truth. Neither she or the Jaffa hold any ill will."

"We can not let them go," Xander protested. "She," he said, indicating Sam, " not only knows the demon who brought us here, but knows his name. She is his familiar, as was Dinah. If we let them go, they will return to the Dark One and bring him down upon our heads. If we allow them to leave, we may as well fall on our blades now. All we have worked for will be lost. Death is preferable to life as slaves again."

Sam saw the five council members lean together, speaking urgently. After a moment or so they separated, and the lead elder spoke.

"Dinah, you have never betrayed us, in fact you have saved us all. It is for that reason alone that we do not order the death of the visitors." Xander began to protest, quickly falling silent as the elder held up his hand, a stern look on his face. "However, we also agree that we can not let the visitors leave. It would endanger us all."

"What?" Sam asked, her voice rising in annoyance despite her best efforts to remain calm.

"You shall live among us until such time we feel we can trust you. Any attempt to leave us will be dealt with most harshly." Sam shot a look at Teal'c, seeing the frustration and annoyance she was sure was also on her face flash across his. Could this day get any worse?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Daniel," Jack said, listening to the even breathing of his friend. Unable to see his watch, he had no idea what time it really was, but something told him it was near dawn. Even without the visual clues of a rising mist or lightening sky, there were subtle changes that signaled the breaking of day.

He felt the slight stirring of a breeze, a delicate change in the smell of the air, and most obvious of all, a gradual feeling of warmth as the sun crested the horizon.

Daniel had urged him to sleep hours ago, and he had dozed a bit, but his mind refused to shut down completely. Things were very, very wrong here. As near as he could determine, his radio was still functioning, a fact that made its continued silence even worse.

The ground quake had seemed relatively minor at the time, but it must have had worse consequences than collapsing an ancient temple. Something had to be wrong with Carter and Teal'c. He knew the members of his team, perhaps better than he knew himself. And if he'd learned nothing else about his 2IC and the ever loyal Jaffa, no matter how annoying or onerous they found hourly check-ins, the only thing that could keep them from his and Daniel's side was if they COULDN'T come. Jack fingered the radio, as if the physical contact could make it work. The longer it remained silent, the more certain he grew that they were in trouble. His mind tortured him with images of how they may be hurt. Buried alive in a landslide, slowly asphyxiating while they waited vainly for rescue. Trapped under a fallen tree, helpless to defend themselves against hungry predators, or injured and slowly bleeding to death. Swallowed up by a bottomless crevasse, eternally entombed in the bowels of an alien world, forever lost, not even a body to recover. Him having to tell Jacob he'd let his only daughter die, telling Drey'ac she was a widow, telling Ry'ac he'd never see...STOP! He silently ordered himself.

For crying out loud Jack, you don't have the foggiest idea what's happened and you're planning their funerals.

There had to be a dozen reasons for them not to have made contact. Sun spots maybe. Carter had said something about red suns being unstable. And there was that time, six or seven planets ago when that funky radiation futzed with the radios. Maybe this planet had inaudible singing plants too. That's it Jack. Keep those positive thoughts coming, he told himself as he reached over to give Daniel a shake. Thank goodness he'd finally fallen asleep. Jack knew he'd tried to stay awake all night, keeping watch for any other unknown threat this planet might have to offer. He'd ignored Jack's protests that Daniel had needed the rest more than he did. Fortunately Daniel's body had overridden the demands of his brain and he'd fallen asleep about four hours ago. Which was exactly what Jack had wanted. Daniel was going to have to be alert enough for the two of them. If Carter and Teal'c were injured and unable to respond, they had only one pair of myopic eyes between them. Eyes Jack didn't need so blurred with exhaustion, that they might miss something important.

"Daniel," he said again, shaking him even harder. Too bad their coffee was buried in the remains of the temple. They both could use some right about now. He swore Danny boy could smell the bitter brew a mile away.

"Huh?" Jack heard as Daniel's form shifted under his hand.

"Rise and shine," Jack quipped, pulling his hand away as Daniel sat up.

"Jack, I'm sorry...I..." he started, regret tingeing his voice.

"Hey don't sweat it. If I remember right it's so dark on this planet you couldn't have seen anything anyway," Jack offered.

"Guess you're right. Once the moon set there was just starlight. I was listening more than watching anyway," Daniel admitted.

"Well, if we're lucky we'll catch up with Carter and Teal'c and be home by nightfall."

"I could live with that," Daniel said, as Jack heard him get to his feet. "How much of this should we take?" he asked, referring to their supplies.

"Everything but the tent," Jack ordered and listened to his friend gathering up their gear. In a matter of minutes Daniel reported the camp had been disassembled and the fire doused. "OK Daniel," Jack said as he felt Daniel take his hand and pull him to his feet. "I never thought I'd EVER say this but you got point. Let's go round up the others."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Daniel walked through the knee high grass, leading Jack, who had a firm grasp of his right elbow. As he walked, he found himself scanning the horizon with a vigilance he usually didn't need to use. Under normal circumstances, he allowed himself the luxury of letting Jack, Sam and Teal'c watch his back. He told himself it was because they were better trained to spot trouble. Which was true. But it was also true that he figured a fourth pair of eyes looking out for danger was sort of redundant. And someone had to keep their eyes open for artifacts. He swore Jack wouldn't know an artifact if it jumped up and bit him on his butt.

Daniel saw with relief that the stargate was just a few hundred yards away. Thank goodness he thought. He was definitely ready for a break. And some more pain killers. The gash in his arm was throbbing in time with each beat of his heart. He also remembered there was a small stream just on the other side of the gate. Which was a good thing since their only surviving canteen was nearly empty and he was incredibly thirsty. He knew it was the blood loss. He hadn't lost enough to go into hypovolemic shock or anything, but he needed to keep himself hydrated or he could be in trouble. At least Jack's med kit had contained some antibiotics. The last thing either of them needed was an infection.

"Are we there yet?" Jack asked, intruding on his musings.

"Almost. The gate's a couple hundred yards away. Thought we'd take a break there for lunch."

"No argument. For once I'm actually hungry enough to WANT an MRE."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daniel carefully picked up the wrappers from their lunch and stuck them in a small garbage bag which he folded over and tucked in the pack, along with the now cool can of sterno.

"Any sign of them?" Jack asked, cocking his head slightly.

"No," Daniel replied, looking at his friend, relieved not to see any blood seeping through the bandages. "Don't suppose you remember exactly where they were headed?"

"Ooh, I'm sure Carter said something about it in the mission briefing, but I sorta tuned that part out. I figured as long as one of us knew where to go we'd be OK."

"At least Teal'c's with her."

"Daniel, they're probably fine. Wouldn't surprise me if they found a Naquadah reactor lying around and Carter's immersed herself in taking it apart."

Daniel snorted. "Or maybe they're guests of some king or something, getting wined and dined."

"If that's the case they better be bringing back doggie bags. I don't think it's possible for MREs to get any worse tasting."

"Jack, I'm sorry. This whole mess is my fault."

"How the hell did it get to be your fault?"

"It was my idea we split up. If I hadn't taken so long in the temple, you wouldn't have been hurt."

"Daniel, get over it. First of all, if I remember correctly, it was Teal'c's idea we split up. And, hell I was just as caught up with the drawings as you were. Anyway, I'm in charge here. This whole fiasco is my responsibility. Let's just track down Carter and Teal'c and get the hell offa this rock before Charlton Heston shows up or something," Jack said, carefully getting to his feet.

"OK."

"We got everything?"

Daniel double-checked. "Yeah."

"Sweet. Got your glasses on?"

"Aah, yeah."

"Good. Don't want the blind leading the blind now do we?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You will stay here." Sam heard her escort tell her as she and Teal'c were conveyed into a dim chamber that bore an uncomfortable resemblance to a cell. The ceiling was low, she'd guess Teal'c could touch it with his out stretched arms, if he could stand that is. There were a couple dozen or so other people in the room. It looked to be about 30 feet square and was just one large room, with a corner curtained off for what she assumed were restroom facilities. There was a fire pit in the center, a small hole in the ceiling to allow the smoke to escape and a handful of torches placed in wall brackets for illumination.

The two men carried Teal'c across the room and set his stretcher down on the floor. They were watched warily, but not fearfully by the other occupants as they turned to leave.

"Wait," Sam said. "Now what?" she asked as one of them turned.

"If I were you, I would rest. Your shift in the mine begins at dawn. And if you don't work, you don't eat."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Mine?" Oh no. Not again.

"Everyone here works. Of course if you're too good to work in the mines, I might be able to find something else for you to do," he said in a voice that suggested EXACTLY what he had in mind.

"Mining's fine," Sam hurried to say. The man merely nodded and he and his companion left, locking the door behind them. Sam turned to Teal'c and gave him a shrug. "Well, it could be worse," she commented as she sat on the floor beside him.

The large Jaffa gave her an inquiring look as he levered himself up, unable to totally hide a grimace as his leg protested the movement. "How so?"

"These people seem a bit nicer that the Taldor. I mean, I didn't sense any fear when we were brought in here."

"Perhaps. We are still being held against our will," he stated as Sam reached into her inner jacket pocket and drew out a small bottle of pills. She opened it, tipped two out into her hand, then stopped and tipped out another. She handed them to Teal'c who brought his hand up to his face to better take a look at them in the dim light. Unlike normal military painkillers, these had writing on them. Pamprin.

Seeing his quizzical look, Sam explained. "They're...painkillers. All I've got with me. They confiscated the rest of the med kit."

Nodding his understanding, he dry swallowed the pills. "You seem unconcerned about our fate."

"Well, the way I figure it, we've missed about half a dozen check-ins. So the colonel's got to be having kittens right about now. I'm guessing he and Daniel will show up in a few hours and get us out of this mess."

"And if they were injured in the ground quake?"

"Then either they'll go through the gate and bring reinforcements or General Hammond will send a rescue team in a few days."

"And if they can not locate us? Nothing in the survey indicated any indigenous people."

Sam shrugged. "They knew where we were. They should find the sinkhole and follow the tunnels. If not, we'll play along for a couple of weeks until you can walk, make a break for it and go through the gate."

"They have your GDO."

"So we'll go to the Land of Light or find the Tok'ra and use theirs. Worst case, we've got just under a month here. As long as I don't see a lovesick princess with a sarcophagus, we'll manage."

"Or you could make your escape now and lead help back to me later."

Sam merely raised her eyebrow and shot him a look that he interpreted as somewhere between Daniel Jackson's 'I don't think so' and O'Neill's 'No freaking way' expression.

"May I be of assistance?" They heard a gentle voice say from near by. Sam turned to see an older man standing a short distance away, his silver hair glinting in the torch light. He was also dressed in robes like the others, however his was a grubby gray. As he drew closer, she realized it had once been white but was now stained beyond redemption. He had the features of the rest of the inhabitants here, vaguely reminding her of people in the middle east. Seeing their wary looks, he held out his hands. "I mean you no harm. I notice your friend is injured. Perhaps I can help."

Sam looked at Teal'c who shrugged. "It does need to be set," she said. "Do you know how to set a leg?"

"Indeed I do," the man said, drawing closer. "I was the court healer for many years. My name is Marcus," he introduced as he knelt at Teal'c's side. Gaining his permission, Marcus looked closer at the leg, gently pulling back the edges of the blood stiff material. "If this is not set correctly, you will never walk well again."

"We know," Sam said. "There hasn't been time to set it and ...well I've done it before but I'm not that good at it," she finished, flashing back to a time before, also in a dark cave. The anguished cries, him pleading with her to stop. It was a memory she wasn't crazy about re-visiting.

Marcus nodded. "It will cause him much pain. I have a potion I can give him. It will make him sleep."

"No," Teal'c stated.

"Teal'c, it's going to hurt...a lot. Maybe it would be better..."

"I need no potion," he said, indicating the matter was closed. He had seen the occupants in the room. While they looked more defeated than hostile, he was not going to leave his teammate basically alone. And he had not survived as long as he had by blindly trusting strangers.

Marcus nodded as he moved into position by Teal'c's foot. "You should brace yourself," he warned as he gently wrapped his hands around Teal'c's ankle, the slight movement giving him a taste of the agony to come. Teal'c braced his arms against the floor and set his teeth as Marcus abruptly leaned back, allowing his body weight to pull and set the damaged limb.

Sam closed her eyes and fought to keep her stomach from rebelling as she heard the sickening click accompanied by a large groan from her friend as the bone slid into alignment.

"You are not going to faint on me too?" she heard. She forced her eyes open, drawing in a deep breath as she met Marcus' inquiring gaze.

"Too?" He motioned towards Teal'c. Sam turned and saw he had passed out. Guess even Jaffa have their limits, she thought. "There is some kindling that will serve for a splint," Marcus said as he got to his feet and strode to the fire pit. Sam checked Teal'c's pulse, relieved to find it strong. She knew why he had refused the proffered painkiller. He hadn't wanted to leave her unprotected. She felt awed at the degree of his friendship. A part of her rebelled at the notion that she had to be protected while another part was incredibly grateful that he was here.

She told herself she couldn't rely on his protection. There was no way he could work, not on that leg. And if what the guard said was true, she would have to meet twice their quota if they both wanted to eat. Just no more gruel, she begged whatever deity might be listening. That...stuff they fed them on Hedantes had tasted like...

"These should work nicely," Marcus said as he knelt back down by Teal'c's leg. Sam turned her attention from her musings and back to matters at hand. She watched Marcus gently place the small branches on either side of Teal'c's leg and secure them with strips of cloth. "I am concerned he will develop an inflammation of his wound. And my medicines in that area are extremely limited."

"We'll just have to hope that doesn't happen," she answered, praying Junior was up to its normal abilities. "Tell me about this place. How did your people come to be here?"

Marcus finished his ministrations and sat back. "According to legend we were brought here over 2000 years ago. There are writings that tell of a great battle, my ancestors fleeing in defeat. During a trek across the desert, a great vessel descended from the sky. My ancestors were taken aboard it and then brought here, it is said by the Dark One himself. We were forced to work these mines. There is an ore on this world the Dark One covets. Our bondage continued for many generations until one day we noticed our sun changing. In my grandfather's time it was smaller and warmer. Now it is red. There was a great cataclysm, many people perished. Dinah led the survivors down here as the Dark One fled, leaving us behind. We are forbidden to live on the surface in fear that the Dark One may sense our presence and return."

"How long has it been since he was here?"

"When I was but a child."

"If it's really been fifty years or so like Dinah said, chances are he won't be back. Without more data I can't be sure but from what you're describing, I think your cataclysm was when your sun shifted from yellow to red and expanded in size. It won't stop. Your sun is dying, running out of fuel. Eventually it's going to become a red giant, getting bigger and bigger until it destroys your planet. Then it'll probably go nova, blow up and turn into a black hole." At Marcus' startled look Sam hastened to explain. "It'll most likely take centuries or millennia for that to happen. But the instability of the sun will continue to effect your world's orbit. The ground quakes will only get worse. Eventually your climate will change too."

"That is what I feared," he said sadly, his tone suggesting he'd suspected as much.

"Look Marcus. We came through the stargate...from another planet. We know of places you and your people can go to...safe havens. We would be willing to help."

"Xander would say you wish to 'help' us to attain access to the ore."

"I'll be honest with you. We do need the ore on your planet, but given the instability of your sun, my leaders may deem it too great a risk." The last thing we need is to gate to another potential black hole, Sam thought, remembering the heavy price of the last time.

"I find myself believing your words, however I am not the one you must convince. Xander is the leader now. And I'm afraid he barely trusts his own people, much less strangers."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Daniel. Tell me what you see," Jack requested.

"Grass. Jack I...I don't know what to look for. I've never even been a boy scout for Pete's sake," he said, unable to hide his frustration.

"Daniel," Jack said firmly. "Most of tracking is a matter of using your eyes and following your gut. Both of which you're good at. Just think about what you're looking for. There aren't any other people here, so any footprints you find that aren't ours have to be theirs. Carter's feet are smaller than yours or mine, Teal'c's are bigger. They both walk with a pretty even stride but expect to find one or both of them pivoting every so often as they check their six. Look for little bits of disturbed grass or freshly dug dirt where Carter's taken her samples. Sometimes she gets lazy and sits down so look for some areas of squashed grass. If there's any bare dirt, Teal'c sometimes uses his staff weapon like a walking stick so look for the little oval shape of the base."

"OK," Daniel answered, uncertainty still in his voice.

"Look Daniel. I know you can do this," Jack encouraged. He released his grip on his friend's arm and plopped himself down on the ground. "You walk a circle. Take your time. If you see something, holler. If not, we'll go on and look in another spot. We'll find them. Try to think like Carter. If you were looking for Naquadah samples, where would you go? Bear in mind she's not going to make it difficult. She'll be thinking of easy places to mine, maybe even a straight shot from the gate."

"Think like Sam?"

"Daniel. You can crawl inside the heads of people who have been dead for centuries. People you don't even know. You should be able to crawl into Carter's head in your sleep. Just...concentrate."

"OK," he replied, slowly walking off, scanning the ground. Think like...he looked behind him, seeing the stargate in the early afternoon sun. A ways beyond it was the temple where they'd been that morning.

He turned slowly back. Jack was right. Sam had said the whole planet was likely rich in Naquadah, with the strongest readings in the hillside he was standing on, so she wouldn't go far. All she needed was physical confirmation of its presence. He remembered in the past when all she'd needed was confirmation she'd only gathered half a dozen or so samples. All within about a square mile. He just needed to find one of six little holes in the ground. Couldn't be that hard. The grass...it was shorter over there. She wouldn't dig in the tall grass. Not after that time when she'd been bitten by a snake she'd disturbed on P2X333. She'd been gathering samples in some tall grass and hadn't seen the nest of the little purple creature until it had been too late. Fortunately it hadn't been poisonous, but it had caused her enough pain Jack had had to dose her up on morphine to get her back through the gate.

Short grass...she'd stay where she could see what she was doing. Maybe over there...maybe...what was that? He knelt down and gently explored a bit of disturbed dirt with his hand. He could easily scoop up the loose soil with his bare hands, revealing a little hole that had been dug, about eight inches deep, then filled back in. "Replacing your divots huh Sam," he whispered, scanning the immediate area. There...he saw something about 3 feet away. He crawled to it and felt a smile break across his face as he moved a bit of grass aside to reveal a small partial boot print. Sam. And headed that way. "Jack," he called as he traced the ridges of the boot print with his fingertips, as if to confirm it was real. "I found it."

"What?" Jack asked, snapping his head up. Already?

Daniel stood and turned back to face his companion. "I found it. Sam took a sample here and headed off that way," he reported as he started back to lead Jack.

"Daniel. Stay there. Don't lose it. I'll come to you," Jack said as he got unsteadily to his feet. Damn, he never realized how much he depended on his vision for his equilibrium until he didn't have it. Several times during their trek across the planet, he wondered if they were really going anywhere or was he on some treadmill from hell, walking forever and never getting anywhere. All in all, being blind was incredibly disorientating.

"Jack," Daniel protested.

"Danny. Trust me. Stay there. Just aah...tell me if I'm going to walk into a tree or something," Jack requested as he slowly walked forward, fighting the urge to hold his hands out in front of him. He was glad that if he had to be stuck, blind as a bat on some planet, Daniel was there. He was having a hard enough time reconciling himself to having to trust someone else for everything, but at least it was Daniel. One of a very few people he could trust this blindly. Jack, that was a bad one, even for you.

"OK Jack. There's nothing but grass between you and me, not even a rock. Just...just follow my voice."

Jack kept walking, using Daniel's voice as a homing beacon until he was close enough to reach out and grab hold. As his fumbling fingers found Daniel's arm, he was unable to prevent himself from tightly gripping the arm, clinging to it like a drowning man would cling to a piece of wood. Walking across that short expanse of grass had been one of the hardest things he had ever done. Damn it. He felt totally helpless. He couldn't even walk a few feet without help. What kind of a leader was he, being led around like some kind of baby. He felt as worthless as a Zat in a room full of replicators.

He was totally unprepared for Daniel's sudden hiss of pain. "Jack...Jack let go," Daniel said in a strained voice.

Jack immediately opened his hand, allowing Daniel to pull his arm from his punishing grasp. "Daniel, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Doesn't sound like nothing," Jack retorted as he became aware of something on his fingers. Starting to get that oh so familiar sinking feeling, he slowly rubbed his fingertips together. The substance was thick and warm. As it cooled quickly in the fresh air, he felt it turn slightly sticky. Needing to confirm his suspicions, he brought his hand up to his face and slowly sniffed. His heart sank as he recognized the sweet salty odor of blood. "Daniel. What the hell's going on?"

"It's nothing."

"I don't call this nothing," he declared, holding out his right hand accusingly.

"I...I just cut myself."

"On what? A butcher knife? Daniel for a cut to be bleeding almost 24 hours later, it's more than a cut. We're talking stitches here, and a couple dozen of them from the feel of it."

"Probably closer to 30 if the last time was any indication," he admitted grudgingly.

"Why didn't you say something?"

"Because it wouldn't have made a difference."

"Wouldn't have...like hell it wouldn't have."

"Oh. Tell me one thing you would have done differently today had you known? Other than NOT grabbing my arm."

"I aah..."

"Exactly. Look, it's bandaged. It wasn't bleeding much until you grabbed it. I've been taking the antibiotics. With the exception of actually sewing it up, which I REFUSE to do, I've done everything Janet would have done."

Jack thought a moment. "OK. You win. ANYTHING else I should know about?" he asked pointedly.

"No."

"Daniel?"

"Honestly Jack, that's it other than a few bumps and bruises."

Jack listened to the truth in Daniel's voice and sighed. He had a point. Sightless as he was, he couldn't even adequately examine or even wrap the arm. "All right. We'll deal with this later. Now which way did they go?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Here. Here's another one," Daniel said, spotting another area of disturbed dirt. He stopped and knelt down, Jack releasing his arm.

"This is what? Number 5 or 6. For crying out loud, how much dirt does that girl need?" he groused.

"I think she got enough," Daniel replied, tracing a faint flat spot in the grass that hadn't been at the other sites. "She set her pack down. That means she was done and packed up her sample case. This must have been where they were the last time you talked to them."

"OK. Carter said they were going to camp so..."

"I'm looking for a campsite."

"Right. Teal'c likes somewhere easy to defend..."

"Somewhere only open on two or three sides," Daniel continued, getting to his feet and brushing his hands off on his pants before reaching out for Jack's hand. "There's a stand of trees. Think they'd head there?"

"See anything else?"

Daniel looked around. "No. Nothing but grass. Looks to be the only shelter."

"OK. Let's go that way."

"Wonder what could have happened," Daniel said as they started to walk. "I mean, there's no temple to fall on them."

"We'll check the trees."

"And if they're not there?"

"Sun's setting right?"

"Yeah, it'll be dark in a couple of hours." Daniel glanced at the ruddy sun, dominating this planet's equivalent of a western horizon.

"Then we'll camp there, and if we don't find anything, we'll head to the gate in the morning."

"You're giving up on them?"

"NO. We'll be overdue in about 24 hours. Hammond should follow procedure and open the gate to establish radio contact. Before we leave, we'll mark this area somehow, make it easier for a rescue team."

"We should look more, maybe they saw something and got sidetracked," Daniel suggested, nudging Jack to the right to walk around a small tree.

"I don't think it's possible to sidetrack Teal'c. We need to get help. We need more than you and I stumbling around. If we can't find them, we need a hundred pairs of eyes, dogs and even a UAV. They've got to be here somewhere. I mean I could step right over the top of them and never kn..."

Jack's sentence remained unfinished as his feet slid out form under him and he started to fall. As he instinctively tightened his hold on Daniel's arm, the young man just as instinctively back pedaled, throwing his weight back. The sudden weight of another human being forcing him to his knees, then he found himself laying flat on the grass, his right arm pulled into the hole, the only thing keeping Jack from falling.

"Jack," he gasped out. "You OK?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Yeah."

"Can you pull me up?" Daniel tried to scoot back but found he had no leverage. The edge of the hole Jack had fallen into was an overhang, and all Jack could do was hang there. He couldn't reach the walls without swinging his weight around, something he knew would pull Daniel in after him. "Daniel. How far down?"

"What?"

"Daniel. Let me go. Go back to the gate and get some help."

"NO."

"Damn it Daniel. Listen to me. You can't pull me up, and I can't climb out. If I pull you down here, there'll be no one to tell them where to look. Let me go."

"NO!"

"Daniel. DO IT!" Jack ordered as he forced his hand to release its hold, leaving Daniel's grasp the only thing between him and ...whatever was down below him.

"Jack..."

"Look, if they fell down here too, I'll have found them. Now let me go."

Daniel closed his eyes against the tears he felt welling up. He knew Jack was right. He couldn't help him. He had to let go...he just couldn't make his hand obey his mind's order.

"Daniel. It's OK. Let go," Jack said quietly.

"Jack...I'll...I'll be back. I promise."

"I know you will," Jack replied as he felt Daniel's hand open and he fell.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daniel laid on the grass, the tears he'd fought streaming out of his eyes. "Damn it," he muttered, slamming his left fist into the dirt in frustration. An act he immediately regretted as pain shot through his arm. 'Oh yeah, the cut. Better not do that again. Enough feeling sorry for yourself. Now they're all depending on you. Stop being a cry baby and get to your feet,' he lectured himself as he forced himself to a sitting position, pulling his rubbery feeling arm out of the hole. He slowly rolled his shoulder and flexed his hand. Ouch. OK. Get back to the gate. No time to camp now. He'd use the flash light and walk through the night...flashlight. He still had Jack's flashlight. Impatiently he forced his strained arm to reach up and unclip the pack. He unfastened it and tipped it over, dumping the contents on the ground. His fumbling fingers closed over the shape of the sought after item and snapped it on. Unwilling to follow Jack's fate, he laid on his stomach to distribute his weight over the unstable soil and shined the light into the hole.

"Jack," he called softly as his beam revealed the form of his friend lying in the dirt about fifteen feet down. At least it hadn't been a bad fall. Jack had survived worse. He looked OK. He couldn't see any gushing blood or body parts bent at odd angles. "Jack," he called again, louder this time.

"Danny," he heard his friend mutter.

"Yeah. You OK?"

"Um. Gimme a minute," Jack said, slowly sitting up. "Where am I?"

Daniel shone the light around. "Looks like part of a cave system. I see...umm two tunnels leading off."

"Maybe a way out?"

"If we knew where they led," Daniel said as he scanned the floor of the pit with his light. The beam passed over something...that didn't look natural. He brought the beam back. "Aah. Jack. I see something."

"Nothing with teeth I hope," Jack joked weakly, remembering Daniel was carrying his rifle, not that he could even see what he would be shooting at.

"No. Umm...about three feet to your right." Jack obligingly crawled over to it. "Little more, left, right, there," he said as Jack's searching fingers closed over a bit of cloth.

"What is it?"

"Gauze. Jack they're down there somewhere. You found them."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Heads up," Daniel warned as he dropped the rope into the hole. He turned and picked up the now re-filled pack and leaned back over the edge. "I'm throwing down the pack," he said, gently tossing it into the pit. He saw Jack turn his head in response to the muffled thump.

"Please tell me you're not going to throw my rifle down here?" Jack pleaded.

'Yeah Jack, thought I'd just toss an automatic weapon around,' Daniel thought with a roll of his eyes. Jack was in mother hen overload right now. Since he couldn't visually confirm things were going what he considered to be right, Jack had started to question everything from the type of knot Daniel had used to tie the rope around the tree to how he planned to climb down. He understood the man's need to exert some control over an uncontrollable situation...but it was REALLY starting to get on his nerves. "Yeah, and if you move over about two steps I'll have a nice clear shot at the top of your head," he muttered as he slid the strap of the rifle over his head.

"I heard that," Jack said.

"Good," Daniel grinned as he grasped a hold of the rope. He sat down and scooted himself forward. "Better stand back in case some of this ledge collapses," he warned. He awkwardly swung himself over the edge and dangled there for a second, really wishing he'd forgotten about his little problem with heights and taken Jack up on his proffered repelling lessons a few months ago.

Taking a deep breath he told himself to just ignore the agony shooting up his left arm and slowly lowered himself into the hole. Hand over hand, a few inches at a time he dropped. This wasn't so bad. Heck, gravity even helped him a bit. Then again it was always easier to go down.

Fortunately Jack stayed quiet, perhaps sensing the last thing his friend needed right now was a lapse in concentration.

After a couple minutes passed he paused and risked a glance up. Good, about half way down. This wasn't too bad. He relaxed his right hand...and felt the torn and bruised muscles in his left arm give way and he fell.

"Daniel!" Jack said, concern making his voice sound harsh. No answer. "Daniel...talk to me. That's a bloody order," he said forcing himself to take small steps forward. Dammit. this whole mess was his fault. If he hadn't fallen into this hole they'd both be sitting around a camp fire right now complaining about the inedibility of MREs.

"Haven't you figured out you can't order me around," he heard a slightly breathless voice say from a few feet away. 'Thank you God,' Jack thought earnestly.

"Daniel, you all right?"

"Just got the wind knocked out of me." Jack knelt down as he heard a groan and a slight clatter of metal as Daniel sat up. "Ouch. Had to land on YOUR gun," he complained good naturedly as Jack heard him slip the strap back over his head and the gun rattled to the ground.

"You're going to have fun explaining those bruises to Fraiser."

"It'll give the nurses something to gossip about," Daniel dismissed.

"Speaking of nurses, have you noticed the one with the ..." Jack paused mid sentence and stretched his arm towards the discarded rifle.

Recognizing the sudden tenseness in Jack's posture, Daniel reached out and placed the rifle in his friend's experienced hands while his own strayed towards his sidearm.

The stillness of the cavern was broken by footsteps. Footsteps that were coming closer. Daniel heard Jack cock his rifle as a tunnel was illuminated by flickering torch light.

A handful of men rounded a bend and came into view. They were dark complexioned, wearing earth toned robes and swords. Which they all drew in a smooth movement that displayed their familiarity with the weapons. The leader of the group held up his hand to forestall the others as they stared at two more strangers in their midst.

"Aah Daniel. What's going on?" Jack asked uncertainly.

"The good news is there's no giant monsters with big teeth."

"And the bad news?"

"Just a few men with swords."

"Ooh. So no teeth."

"No teeth."

"Good guys?"

"I'm really hoping so," Daniel replied as Jack laid his rifle on the ground clearly deciding to err on the side of caution and not murder. Daniel followed suit with his pistol and they were taken into custody.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ratchel walked into Dinah's room, one so different from her own. The alien woman used nearly three families rations of torches and fuel for her braziers. An extravagance no one really minded since she was willing to share her healing powers with anyone who needed it.

After the cataclysm it was Dinah that came up with the idea of abandoning the surface and living in the mines. That idea, along with leaving the dead on the surface is what convinced the Dark One all the people were dead.

He had taken his ship and left, moving on to greener pastures and believing he'd marooned his wife on a dead planet.

It had taken Dinah years to be accepted by her former servants. Only a few kind souls like Ratchel and Marcus would even talk to her at first. Ratchel knew some of what the woman had suffered.

She had been Dinah's personal slave and therefore privy to more than most. She had seen how her husband treated her, the physical and mental cruelties he subjected her to. Only Ratchel and Marcus had any idea the prices Dinah had paid over the years to protect the people. How she had smuggled food to various workers. How many lives she'd saved using her healing device.

Their friendship grew over the years, becoming more like sisters than master and slave.

A friendship that had nearly been destroyed when Dinah and Marcus created a child together. That betrayal nearly destroyed them all and had tragic consequences for Dinah.

Delilah had willingly withdrew to allow the pregnancy to continue and as a result, when complications arose she was not able to help her host without killing the child. Dinah nearly died giving birth and Delilah did die healing her host.

The death of her symbiote cast Dinah into a depression so deep that nearly 30 years later, she still felt the loss.

Because she'd been unable to, Ratchel and Marcus cared for the child, eventually raising him as their own.

"What is it Ratchel?" Dinah asked, looking up from the cloth she was weaving on her loom.

"Two more strangers have come," Ratchel reported, standing beside her friend.

"Jaffa?"

"No," Ratchel hurried to say, quick to alleviate the rising fear in the woman's voice. "They are both humans, dressed like the Jaffa and the woman, most likely their companions. Dinah, I honestly believe them when they say they do not wish to harm us," she said earnestly, putting her hand on Dinah's arm, stilling her motions. "We should let them go. The Knesset will not listen to me, but they will to you."

"Ratchel I...I wish I could. I know I promised to protect your people...but I am so afraid," Dinah admitted in a whisper, centuries of remembered pain on her face. "I...could not bear it if he came back..."

Ratchel knew better than to push the woman, she knew the depths of her fears and nightmares. " Just please...think about it. The ground quakes are getting worse. The strangers may be our only salvation. Your bravery saved us, please do not let your fear condemn us."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Teal'c brought himself out of his light meditative state as his ears picked up the sound of workers returning. The door unlocked with a rattling clang. Since the guards had come to take the workers at dawn, or what they called dawn, he had been mostly alone in the chamber.

The healer, Marcus, was obviously exempt from mining and he had been otherwise occupied with caring for a sick man. He had also noticed the man seemed to be more a resident than an inmate. He appeared to be allowed much latitude in his comings and goings. He still wasn't sure if this spoke to the man's trustworthiness or his capacity for betrayal.

Fortunately, the man had brought Teal'c some bread and broth as a morning meal and then left him alone. He was grateful for the relative solitude. It permitted him to meditate and hopefully give his symbiote every opportunity to heal his leg. He knew Major Carter would not leave this place without him. It was their SG-1 covenant...No one is left behind. Therefore his goal was to try to heal his leg as quickly as possible.

He watched the workers file slowly in. There was an air about them he had seen far too often. He recalled bits of Major Carter and Marcus' conversation from the night before. She told Marcus a sanitized version of their adventures on Netu and SG-1's previous run-ins with Sokar and he told her about this place.

The mine was punishment. People who broke the laws of the community were sentenced here, some for days, others for years. This seemed to suggest that, unlike P3R636, the guards would perhaps be more lenient and less cruel than the Jaffa impersonators of Shyla's world. This gave him hope that they could escape from this place relatively unscathed.

He still felt relieved however as he caught sight of a blond head entering the room.

She walked towards him and carefully eased herself down beside him, a grimace crossing her face.

"Major Carter."

"Hey Teal'c. Have a nice day?" she asked, leaning back against the wall, closing her eyes.

"Your ribs are causing you discomfort?"

Sam opened her eyes and looked at her friend. "A little," she admitted.

"What are the mines like?"

"Actually, it's not bad. The Naquadah isn't in bedrock like on Shyla's planet. It's a...more like sandstone or something. Pretty soft actually. Our job is to pick the ore out of the rock these other workers have already knocked loose. Now that I'm better at listening to Jolinar, it's easier for me to know the good rocks from the bad ones. How's the leg?"

"Now that it is set, it is mending."

"That's good. I should have left these with you," she said, pulling her bottle of pills out of her pocket. She opened it and offered him two.

Teal'c shook his head. "The pain is manageable." She nodded, took one herself and carefully tucked the bottle back into her inner pocket.

"Now what I want to know is when's dinner?"

"Marcus said it will be brought here."

"Cool. Room service. If we can just get them to turn up the heat," she said, rubbing her hands together.

"The ambient temperature is normal for a subterranean environment."

Sam smiled. "I know Teal'c. Just...why can't we ever get stranded on some tropical island or something. Just once I'd like to get a tan."

"We were once stranded on a warm planet, when we were searching for a cure for Colonel O'Neill when he was inflicted with the language of the Ancients," he reminded, referring to the desert world where they'd been stranded for several hours...and nearly cooked to death.

"Not quite what I had in mind. I'm thinking about 80 degrees, sunshine, warm breeze, cool ocean, palm trees..." As Sam fantasized, Teal'c cocked his eyebrows and remained silent, not quite sure how to respond. "...bonus points of there's a bar serving strawberry daiquiris," she finished as they heard the door open again.

Expecting the guards with dinner, they were totally surprised to see the two new prisoners escorted in.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Daniel."

"O'Neill."

Jack heard as he and Daniel were led into what he assumed to be a cell. Could be the Presidential Suite, but considering their less than warm reception, and SG-1's persistent good luck with the natives of every planet they visited, it was probably a cell.

"Congratulations Danny boy. You found em," he quipped, the bandages on his face hiding his relief as his nightmare images faded away. He wished he could see their condition but they didn't sound too bad. They were alive. That's what mattered.

"Sam, Teal'c. You guys all right?" Daniel asked, pulling Jack behind him and taking a seat on the floor beside them, his happy grin matching Sam's.

"Teal'c's leg is broken but we're OK. Colonel, what happened to you?"

"Daniel's temple fell on us."

"Actually it fell on Jack's face."

"Sir?" Sam asked, knowing there was more to the story.

"It's nothing Major. What's the scoop on our hosts?"

As Sam and Teal'c filled them in on all they'd learned, the guards arrived with dinner. They ate the provided stew and talked, arriving at no concrete solutions but at least they were together again. That solidarity made the situation seem not so bleak now that the uncertainty of wondering if the others were still alive had been removed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Daniel." He heard as a gentle hand shook his arm. His right arm fortunately. He ignored it. He wasn't ready to wake up yet. Despite Marcus' proffered painkillers, his arm was aching almost unbearably.

Last night, after their meal, Marcus had come over and offered to stitch up the cut. Daniel had balked. If someone was going to start sewing his skin together he wanted it to be in a nice clean infirmary with some judicious use of Novocain not in a grungy cold cell by an alien of indeterminate age and uncertain skill. No matter how much he'd helped Teal'c.

However, after learning their GDO was in the custody of their hosts who really didn't want them to leave...ever...he gave in and let the healer treat his arm. Left untreated he knew it would heal...in a few weeks, and with Jack and Teal'c already handicapped he and Sam needed to stay as healthy as possible.

While he had to admit Marcus' skill in stitching nearly equaled Janet's, his painkillers left a lot to be desired. After waiting impatiently for an hour or two for the pain to fade, he finally gave in and took a couple pills from Sam's secret stash. For about ten seconds he was grateful for Jack's temporary blindness. He would rib them unmercifully if he saw what kind of painkillers they were taking.

"Daniel. Come on," Sam said softly, shaking his arm a bit harder. Reluctantly he forced his eyes open, blinking to clear his vision. He turned to Sam who was stiffly getting to her feet. He focused past her to see the other workers picking themselves up and trudging towards the open door of the cell.

They filed down a passageway, different than the one he and Jack had been led down just last night.

Following Sam's lead, they got into line to pick up their morning ration of broth and flat bread.

"What about Jack and Teal'c?" he asked as they claimed a corner of the cavern to eat.

"Marcus will take care of them," Sam said, forcing herself not to gulp down the broth which she earnestly wished was coffee.

"What do you make of him?" he asked, also cramming the food into his mouth. At least it was fresh and edible. He'd certainly had worse.

"Marcus? I don't know for sure. I mean, it's sort of weird to have your healer banished. He lives amongst the prisoners but he seems to be able to come and go at will."

"Are you sure we can trust him? He could be someone like Kera," he suggested, almost hesitant to bring up her name.

Sam shook her head. "I don't think so. He seems pretty sincere. And I honestly think he wants our help, he just can't do anything about it. Xander is definitely the boss around here."

"That's an understatement. His 'rule' seems to be almost a borderline dictatorship."

"There's something more going on, that's for sure. If I could just figure it out it might help us," Sam said as the guards moved among them, signaling that breakfast was over and it was time to go to work.

Daniel got to his feet and held out his uninjured right hand to help Sam to hers. "How are your ribs?" he asked, seeing her quickly hidden grimace of pain.

"Just bruised," she dismissed as they joined the queue going to the mine shafts.

They were barely ten feet down the passageway when Daniel felt an urgent tug on his arm. He grabbed Sam's arm as he turned, surprised to see Marcus. With a small wave of his hand, the healer pulled the two out of the parade of workers and into a shallow alcove.

"Marcus, is something wrong?" Sam asked quietly, hoping the guards wouldn't notice.

"No, no," he hurried to reassure. "I just...thought Daniel would need some spare bandages," he whispered, pressing a small bundle into Daniel's good hand.

"What?" Daniel started but stopped as the older man merely shook his head and hurried off. They watched him go then quickly rejoined the line, Daniel absently exploring the bundle. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember my question?"

"Which one?"

"Whether we should trust him."

"Yeah."

"Just got the answer," he said cryptically. Sam looked at the bundle in his hands and saw the edge of the GDO peeking through the strips of linen. She met his gaze and they silently acknowledged that more options had just opened up.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam cautiously made her way up the tunnel. For once she wished for Teal'c's Jaffa vision, heck a seeing eye bat would come in handy right about now, she thought as she negotiated the passage, trying not to trip over stray rocks and betray herself.

Now that they had a GDO and a way back to Earth, both she and Daniel agreed they needed to find a way out of the caves. There was the way they'd all come in, but wounded as they all were, she doubted they could climb out, at least not fast enough to avoid getting caught. So it was pretty much a one way sink hole. Throughout the day they'd taken turns, each disappearing for a bit to explore an offshoot of the main shaft. Common sense and the persistent faint breeze told them there had to be a way out somewhere.

So far their search had been fruitless, the only excitement being slipping away from and rejoining the work crews undetected.

She quickly glanced at the illuminated dial of her watch. If she hurried they could try one more tunnel before the end of the day. They had to find a way to escape soon. They would be overdue in a few hours...and had just a few days after that at the most before the SGC would cut them off and lock out their codes, marooning them on this world. She knew the general would search for them but the MALP hadn't detected caverns before so it was unlikely it would now. And the note Daniel and the colonel had left mentioned nothing of tunnels.

Hearing the soft murmur of voices and the dull thud of rocks, she peeked around a corner, making sure no one would notice her return. She slipped into the small group of people and joined Daniel.

"Sam. What took you so long?" he hissed, awkwardly picking up a rock with his good arm. She reached forward and pulled the rock out of his grasp, tossing it into the cart.

"The tunnel was longer than I thought. And a dead end," she whispered.

"Sam, I was thinking. How are we going to get Teal'c down here when we find a way out?"

"We're not."

"What?"

"Daniel, when we find a way out, you're going to take the GDO and the colonel and go home. I'll stay here with Teal'c."

"Excuse me? You're not staying behind," he stated.

"It's going to be a week or two before Teal'c can walk and the longer the colonel's eyes go untreated, the more likely it is, if there is damage, it'll be permanent so it makes sense for the two of you to go back."

"I don't like it. Jack won't like it. We just got back together, we shouldn't split up."

"Look, technically he's not fit for command right now, that makes me the boss and I'm saying you and he are leaving," she declared in a tone very reminiscent of Jack's. The one he used when he decided a matter was closed.

"Sam, he'll kill me if I let you guys stay behind. Anyway, if you got the same warning we got, Xander is not going to like it if we break out," he warned, remembering the ruler's threat of force if they endangered his people.

"I think his bark is worse than his bite," Sam said. "And I get the feeling Dinah will help us out, she's vouched for us before. Anyway, someone has to go through the gate and tell General Hammond we're still alive before he locks us out and we're stuck here. You guys can come back for us in a few days or we'll break out and go to the Land of Light."

Daniel sighed, not liking it one bit that he couldn't find a flaw in her plan. "I still say he'll kill me. And court-martial you," he said, playing his last card.

"He can't court-martial me if he never orders me not to stay. He won't kill you. He stands to win the pool if you stay alive for two more months. And I know he's already picked out what to buy with the winnings."

"Wha...What pool? You guys are betting on when I'll get killed?" he asked, not quite able to keep the surprise out of his voice.

"Not on you dying per se. It only pays off if you die and come back."

"I...somehow I'm not surprised," he mumbled as they carefully made their way to a different branch of the tunnels. He glanced at the wall at the junction and compared the symbol there with his mental list of the tunnels they'd already been in.

Fortunately the diggers of the tunnels or perhaps it was the miners themselves, labeled the differing tunnels. To his trained eyes it looked like a derivation of Aramaic. It teased him with it's familiarity, like a name he knew he knew but couldn't remember. A bit of foresight he was incredibly grateful for since the tunnels all looked depressingly similar.

He and Sam slid in with another group and began to load the chunks of raw ore into the carts. After about fifteen minutes they observed the guard walking away.

"Your turn," she whispered. Daniel nodded and slipped down the tunnel, a part of his mind intent on navigation, the rest searching for a solution that included all four of them going home...together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daniel furtively slipped down the tunnel, his ears tuned behind him, listening for any sign that his little foray was not going un-noticed.

Hearing nothing but the clatter of rocks and an occasional grunt from a worker, he plucked a torch from an iron bracket on the wall and made his way forward.

Soon he was beyond the limit of the lit torches and the brand he carried created a much too small circle of flickering orange light in the pitch black subterranean darkness. He strained his eyes, trying to see if there were any markings or writings on the rough walls. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something, that there was more, much more to these people than met the eye.

If what Sam and Teal'c had told him of their history was accurate, they had most likely been abducted from Earth. And if Sam's theory about this planet and its sun was correct, they were living on borrowed time.

Worst case scenario, they might only have a few years left. Heck the epicenter of a ground quake in the wrong place could decimate the whole settlement. And while he desperately wanted to get his friends home, he also wanted to help these people.

He stopped his musings at the sight of a glimmer of light ahead. Maybe the tunnel looped around? They hadn't thought of this. He slowed his steps, bending over to prop the torch against a rock. So far their explorations had gone unnoticed. No need to risk anymore than they had to. Getting caught would probably result in them being locked up. Permanently.

His cautious steps brought him not to a group of workers, but within hands reach of a smooth wall, the light leaking through a huge fissure, probably a result of the recent seismic activity.

He peeked through, not totally surprised to see a group of stone benches, arranged in rows centering around what could only be an altar. Damn it. This tunnel had to lead back to the settlement. Another dead end. All this accomplished was to get them out of the mine, and possibly out of their cell. Unfortunately if they didn't know how to get to the surface, why bother?

He glanced at his watch. He had to get back. He risked spending the night in the mine, or at the very least being discovered when the guards did their head count and came up one short.

He turned back...and stopped. The writing on the walls...it was numbers. They'd gotten bigger as the day went on. Bigger as they worked their way away from the settlement. His sense of direction was nowhere as good as Teal'c's but this structure couldn't be part of the settlement. They were miles away by now. This had to be a forgotten part of the community. Forgotten but not abandoned, the braziers that illuminated the room were evidence enough of that. This could be a way out.

He had to check it out. This might be their only chance. Sam said they moved the workers around a bit, that where they worked today was nowhere near where she'd been yesterday. "Sorry Sam," he whispered, definitely hoping this lead would pan out. If he came back empty-handed after making her explain to Jack and Teal'c how she'd 'lost him' she would kill him. And to heck with the pool.

He slid through the fissure, gritting his teeth as he bumped his arm on a small outcrop. He paused for a second, listening carefully. He didn't see anyone but someone had to be maintaining the braziers. Sensing no other presence, he made his way around the room, looking for an exit.

Now that he was inside the chamber...temple, he could see it was about 40 feet square. The stone altar dominated the center of the room, flanked by two braziers. The smooth stone walls were lined with un-lit torches, similar to the ones in the tunnels. Here and there the monotony of the gray walls was broken up by colorful woven tapestries, ten in all. Wishing he had more time and somehow knowing at least some of his answers were here, he made his way to the heavy wooden door. This also testified to the age of the structure.

One thing he had noticed when he and Jack were escorted into the cell was an almost total lack of wood. The dwellings were made of stone and from the smell he could tell they either burned this planet's equivalent of coal or animal dung for heating and cooking. Even the carts he and Sam had been filling were made of extremely old wood, augmented by some type of woven canvas.

Reaching for the door handle he froze in mid-motion as the ornate bit of metal moved of its own volition and the door slowly swung open.

'Oh fudge cookies,' he thought as he frantically glanced around the room, really wishing he'd missed a convenient closet or an oh so handy floor length curtain. Seeing no such hiding place, he settled for flattening himself against the wall, hoping whoever was coming into the temple was the inattentive type and wouldn't feel the need to...poke him full of holes or something else just as painful.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Xander made his way through the derelict tunnels. None of his people came here anymore. According to Dinah and Ratchel it had been built soon after his people were brought here by the Dark One. They used it to worship, a practice they had hidden from the Dark One. But as the generations went on, fewer and fewer people cared about the old ways. What good was it to pray to a god when you were on a whole different world? A god no one knew the name of in the first place. A god who abandoned them to the service of the Dark One.

He'd stumbled across the temple when he'd been just a boy. Back then the tunnels were a forbidden place. Somewhere people would work from dawn to dusk, slaving away. Despite the best efforts of the parents the children would find their way into the tunnels and play.

Ratchel found him here years ago. Perhaps recognizing the child's need to have his own place, she had helped him clean up the rubble. She had sewn the wall hangings, scavenging discarded cloth from the Dark One's home or fabric she'd woven herself, mimicking patterns passed down through the generations.

For him, this temple had been a refuge. One place where he wasn't teased or tormented because he was different. No one was here to care who his parents were. The temple became his place. And after his people retreated beneath the surface...the only place where he could be alone.

The peaceful surroundings allowed him time to think, time to reflect.

And he needed to think. He needed to make his decision on the fate of the strangers. A part of him wanted to force them to stay. He was desperately afraid they would bring the Dark One back. But Ratchel swore they would not. In fact, she told a fantastical tale of the strangers returning from hell and the possible demise of the Dark One by one of his brethren. Oh how he wished it were true. How he craved to lead his people out of the darkness and into the sunlight. How he longed to be able to look at the night sky, the constellations that told of his ancestors and not be afraid that the Dark One would look down, see him and return.

But, worst of all, what if the strangers' stories were true and this world was doomed? By imprisoning them here, was he abusing what could be his people's only chance for salvation? In his desire to protect them, could he be condemning them to death?

Those were some of the questions he needed to answer.

He pushed open the heavy wooden door, squinting a bit until his eyes adjusted from the dimness of the tunnel. He shut it behind him and made his way to his favorite bench, not noticing the figure standing in the corner. He sat down and closed his eyes, letting the stillness of the temple flow through him.

"Aah...excuse me," he heard come tentatively from the back of the room. His heart leapt into his throat and he shot to his feet, his robes flying as he spun to face the threat.

Daniel immediately raised his hands, more than a little relieved to see Xander didn't have his sword this time. His chances of surviving this encounter un-shish-kabobed just increased 100 fold. "Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"What are you doing? How did you get in here?"

"...intrude," Daniel finished lamely. He studied the man's face, trying to gauge his reactions. Xander looked more embarrassed and uncomfortable than truly outraged. The sheer distance this temple was from the settlement suggested it wasn't heavily used, possibly a relic from an earlier time. Daniel turned and started to study the room, hoping to distract Xander. "This is a beautiful place. Very peaceful. Sort of reminds me of a dig I worked in Grad. school. I specialized in Egyptology, but I'd work a dig almost anywhere," he continued, trying to place the language embroidered on the wall hangings. They sort of looked like Aramaic, like on the tunnel walls, but something was different about them. He gently traced the letters with his fingers, as if the tactile sense of them could jog his memory. That was one downfall of knowing 23 languages...they tended to get confused in his memory. Without looking back, he could feel Xander step behind him, his rancor seemingly replaced by curiosity. "This reminds me of the numbers on the tunnel walls. We have a language like it on Earth. We call it Aramaic. It's a really ancient language, been around thousands of years." He stopped and turned to face Xander. "You know, I think you came from Earth. That the...Dark One took your people from my world."

"How can you know that?"

"We've charted hundreds of planets, most with people from Earth. The Dark One, he's from a race called the Goa'uld. They raided my planet and kidnapped...thousands even tens of thousands of people."

"It is easy for you to say that knowing I have no way to prove you wrong," Xander countered, distrust plain on his face.

"True," Daniel conceded with a shrug. "It's sort of my word against yours but..." he trailed off as something clicked.

'Look, I don't know much about this stuff, but I seem to remember the commandments, the first one I think...'

'I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other God before me?'

'OK. Not that one...'

He looked again at the tapestries, his eyes growing wide as the implications of his revelation became clear to him. In his mind's eye he saw the graceful Aramaic letters seem to morph and turn themselves into English. "I am the Lord your God...Honor thy father and mother...Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy...Thou shalt not kill...Thou shalt not bear false witness...Thou shalt not covet..." he said, pointing at the matching banner. He turned his triumphant gaze at a stunned Xander.

"How...how do you know our sacred words?"

"Because they're OUR sacred words too. They're called the Ten Commandments. They're the basis for...hundreds of religions on Earth, still worshipped by people today."

Xander shook his head in disbelief. "No...this isn't possible...you...you know the Dark One...you can't..."

"Xander, look..." Daniel began, then stopped as a low pitched rumble filled the chamber. "What?"

"He is angry at your blasphemous words," Xander accused.

"HE is a ground quake," Daniel countered harshly, for once sympathizing with Jack and his impatience for all things metaphysical. Flashes of tumbling masonry flitted through his brain. No. Not this time. He dashed forward and roughly grabbed Xander's arm. "We need to get out of here!"

"NO! We are safe here," Xander yelled, yanking his arm out of Daniel's grasp and turning towards the altar.

"NO! WE'RE NOT!" Daniel screamed as a sharp crack filled the air. He looked upwards, horrified to see the ceiling of the temple beginning to give way. 'Deja vu all over again,' he thought hysterically as he saw the ceiling was going to come down...right on top of Xander. "LOOK OUT!" he screamed as he threw himself forward. Twin grunts of pain were dwarfed by the thunderous crash of stone shattering against stone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam worriedly looked at her watch. Damn it, where was he? She didn't know what, if any, method the natives used to track time, but, if yesterday was any indication, they would be breaking up soon. And if he didn't make it back before they were returned to their cell, he risked spending the night here. Or, at the very least, their plans being exposed. Maybe...maybe she should go look for him. The problem was, the guards would definitely notice both of them missing. But she sure as hell didn't want to go back to the cell and tell the colonel and Teal'c that Daniel was missing.

They guys would definitely worry though if neither of them returned. She'd just take a quick look, she decided. If anyone noticed the two of them returning together...they could always claim they'd sneaked off for...

"Where are you going?" a voice asked roughly, grabbing her arm and spinning her around.

"Umm...what? I wasn't going anywhere," she lied.

He gave her a shake and she gritted her teeth as her ribs protested the harsh treatment. "Don't lie. You and your friend have been sneaking off all day. I have been watching you. Where are you going?" he repeated, anger rising in his voice.

Sam wracked her brains, trying to come up with an appropriate lie. "Well...ummm...we sorta..." her voice trailed off as she became aware of a dull rumble, vaguely reminding her of the sound of an approaching subway train.

The guard's eyes grew wide as the rumble quickly became a roar. Small bits of stone and dirt began to fall from the ceiling as the ground under their feet started to roll and jump. He abruptly pushed her away from him, sending her falling into the cavern wall. He turned and ran, evidently deciding his life wasn't worth questioning her further.

Stunned for a second, Sam pushed herself up and began to run for her life.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Shouldn't they be back by now?" Jack asked, tossing back one of Carter's painkillers that she'd left with them. He made a mental note to have Janet start putting them in the med kits. They worked far better than anything he'd ever taken. He wished he could see his watch. Heck, he should be out there WITH his team, not hanging around here with his thumbs up his ass. Hell he was about as worthless as Maybourne in a firefight right now. For most of this mission he'd been dead weight, being led around by the hand, unable to really even defend himself. Heck, Rothman would be more of an asset right about now.

He wasn't used to feeling this...useless. He hadn't felt this out of control since Iraq...since his and Carter's little foray to the bottom of the world.

If he could just do SOMETHING, contribute something to this mission other than following Daniel around like a puppy. Now there's a juxtaposition...a blind dog with a seeing eye anthropologist/archaeologist/linguist.

Up until today he'd been able to avoid thinking about his...injury. What if it was permanent? What if Daniel's bandages were less of a precaution, and more of fixing the barn door after the horse was gone? What if he was...visually impaired, without sight...to hell with political correctness...blind as a freaking bat? Hell, the Air Force barely tolerated him as it was, bad knee, smart mouth and all. Even if his knee did give out, he always had the option of flying a desk or being some sort of advisor. Hammond had made it known he, and all of SG-1 would always be welcome at the SGC.

But the thought of spending the next how ever many years doing paperwork had always been enough to send him running for the hills. Course, a blind ex-colonel couldn't see where he was running, much less run very fast. He'd be pretty much useless. Wouldn't be able to look at the stars. He'd never see Charlie's picture again, see that blush that he knew Carter hated whenever he managed to embarrass her. Never see Daniel's eyes light up when inspiration struck. Never see the laughter dancing in Teal'c's dark, wise eyes. Never notice how the overhead lighting glared off Hammond's head.

There was a part of him that longed to rip off the bandages and find out how much damage there was. Laira hadn't been far wrong when she'd called him impatient. And just as big a part of him that was scared to death what he'd discover.

This sort of indecision wasn't something he was used to feeling.

"If they maintain the same schedule as yesterday, Major Carter and Daniel Jackson should be returning any time," Teal'c stated, well aware of the frustration and fear his leader was feeling. He'd felt the same way when he'd been blinded on Bedrosia and helpless to rescue his friends from the clutches of Rygar. That mission had turned out well. Surely this one would also.

He was also feeling unease and anger at his imposed immobility. In all his years, he was not used to being forced to 'sit on the sidelines' while his team carried the load. He watched O' Neill cock his head. He knew from the man's posture he was straining his ears, trying to pick out the first faint sounds of the workers returning.

He recognized that when O'Neill called the members of SG-1 kids, he was not degrading them, rather he was claiming responsibility for them. And as such, he worried over each of them as a woman would over her first infant. "O'Neill, I do not..." Teal'c stopped as O'Neill held up his hand.

"Do you hear that?"

Teal'c listened. "They are not returning yet."

"No. Not that...that," he insisted. Teal'c closed his eyes and struggled to hear what had caught the colonel's attention. There...he almost felt it...a vibration, much like a space ship in flight. He laid his palm on the stone floor and felt the vibrations increase, growing stronger by the second. "Aah, Teal'c. Don't suppose the subway runs around here?"

"It does not O'Neill. This is another ground quake," he stated as the vibration became a rumbling, then a roar as the two men were tossed about like dice in a cup.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack drummed his fingers on the floor and bit his tongue, hard, to keep himself from asking Teal'c what time it was. He knew he was stretching the Jaffa's patience thin when the response he'd received to his previous query had been a terse 'eleven minutes and sixteen seconds since the last time you inquired O'Neill,'. OK. Sue him. He was worried. It had been over an hour since the ground quake and he and Teal'c were still alone in the cell.

He struggled to come up with explanations for their continued solitude. Maybe the workers had been set to clearing debris. Maybe Carter and Daniel had found their way to the surface and escaped, hoping to rendezvous with the rescue party and lead them back here. Maybe they were helping with the rescue efforts, racking up some 'we really are the good guys' brownie points in an effort to get their captors to let them go. Maybe Daniel was hurt and Carter was staying behind to help him. Or...maybe they were both dead, buried alive in a cave-in. Maybe trapped behind tons of stone, waiting for the air to run out so they could asphyxiate in peace. Maybe...

Jack's morbid train of thought was neatly derailed by the sound of the door opening.

"Finally." Teal'c heard O'Neill say, noting the not so tiny degree of relief, anticipation and dread that colored his voice. He too desired answers. He found knowing his friends were in danger and not knowing their fates unacceptable.

Teal'c turned his gaze to the opening door and set himself to describing the scene for O'Neill. " The workers are returning. Some of them are injured, though not severely as most are moving under their own power or with the aid of others."

"Any sign of Carter and Daniel?"

"Not as of yet," Teal'c was forced to reply as the last prisoners entered the room. He saw O'Neill cock his head, clearly hearing the end of the procession.

"Teal'c?"

"They did not return O'Neill."

"Dammit."

Teal'c saw Marcus hurry in, his grubby robes even dirtier than normal. The man's face was streaked with dirt and his shoulder length white hair, always tied back, was loose and tangled. Teal'c saw him briefly scan the room, and upon seeing them, he scurried their way. "Marcus approaches," he reported as the man knelt beside them.

"You must come quickly."

"What's wrong?"

"Your friends, they are missing."

"Missing?"

"Several workers were caught in the cave ins. We have freed most of them but your friends remain unaccounted for."

"Do you know where they were last?" Teal'c asked as Jack got to his feet.

"We think we know," Marcus replied as he too got to his feet. "Many of the survivors reported they moved around a lot, working in many different tunnels. Peder told me he saw Major Carter arguing with a guard right before the cave in."

"Then that should be the first place to look," Teal'c stated as he awkwardly gained his feet, using the wall he had been sitting against for support. Regardless of his determination to join the search, he was careful to keep his weight off his injured leg. 'Junior' may have mended much of the tissue damage, however the fractured bone was still incredibly sensitive and not nearly ready to support even a fraction of his weight.

But he would not remain here. He had already spent too much of this mission relatively helpless. If it had not been for his injury, they could have already made their escape. O'Neill's impairment, while bothersome, did not hinder his mobility to the degree that his fractured leg did. Even if the others found a way out, they would not leave unless he could come with them.

This was not something he was accustomed to. In the way of the Jaffa, if a warrior could not retreat with his master he faced three choices. He could strike out on his own, becoming a mercenary and abandoning his family. He could remain where he had been left, throwing himself on the mercy of the people he had just been fighting against. Or he could make his own way home to the master that had abandoned him, hoping not to be seen as a possible traitor or spy and killed.

The Tau'ri tradition of not leaving a man behind, be he a fresh faced recruit on his first mission or an old and trusted comrade, had been one of the hardest concepts for him to grasp.

Strategically it made little sense to risk a life or lives for a life. It was illogical, foolish, a strategic error...and often one of the most beautiful acts he had witnessed.

Except this time. This time he was endangering his friends with this...injury. Something he would do no longer.

"I will aid in the search."

"Teal'c..."

"I will assist in the search," he stated, his tone resolute.

"Wait a moment," Marcus said, unfazed by the glare Teal'c shot at him. "You will need aid in your walking. Wait here," the elderly doctor instructed as he hurried from the room.

"Teal'c, you should stay here. That leg'll just slow us down," Jack suggested, totally understanding the Jaffa's wishes. Right now, he could think of nothing that would keep him from trying to help his friends.

"As I am sure your lack of vision will not hinder our efforts."

"Touche my friend," Jack conceded as Marcus came back into the room carrying Teal'c's staff weapon.

Teal'c gratefully took the weapon from the healer and the men left the chamber intent on discovering the fate of two missing people. A blind ex-special forces colonel, a sholva Jaffa with a broken leg and an alien healer.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dark. It was so dark. And cold. She really hated the cold. It never used to bug her before. Maybe the time in the Antarctic had messed up her internal thermostat? Where was the blanket? She was so tired and someone had taken her blanket. Maybe it was at the foot of the bed? Maybe she had kicked it off.

She reached out with her right hand to pull it up...and stopped. Her arm wouldn't move. What? Why? What was wrong? Wait a minute. Calm down.

Forcing the bubbling panic back, she slowly began to take stock. First one foot, than the other. 'Thank you God,' she thought as she felt her toes wiggle. OK, sorta ruled out a spinal injury. That's good. That meant...something else had to be wrong. Where was...the planet, working with Daniel, trying to find a way out. The dull rumble...oh god, the cavern. The ground quake, rocks falling, knocking her down. Feeling them landing on top of her.

A burst of adrenaline caused her body to jerk and she let out a cry as agony tore through her chest. She lay back down, struggling to breath through the pain. Right, her ribs. They were a lot more than bruised now.

She forced herself to take slow shallow breaths, struggling not to cough as the settling dust tickled her throat. She was lying on her stomach, her face in the dirt. She could move her left arm, maybe dig out her right. She felt around with her free hand and swore under her breath as she stubbed her fingers on the cavern wall. That's right, she had been next to the wall, which is probably what prevented her from being totally buried.

But she was trapped, the lower half of her body pinned under way too much dirt and rocks. The analytical part of her mind tried to figure out how much dirt there was. Too much. She knew she was stuck until someone, anyone, found her.

And worst of all, she had absolutely no idea where Daniel was.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Marcus led the two strangers down the rubble filled tunnel, ignoring the curious looks of the other rescuers. He knew he was violating Xander's decision. But he also knew his son was wrong. These strangers would not bring death and destruction to his people. They might be their only chance for salvation.

"They were last seen in one of these tunnels," he reported, coming to a halt near an intersection of three branching caverns.

"There are three possible tunnels O'Neill," Teal'c said, noting that all three had suffered damage. If their team mates were indeed trapped down here, it was very likely they were injured, or possibly buried beneath tons of material. It also meant time was limited.

He was afraid they may have only one chance, only time to search one of the tunnels. "Perhaps we should separate. It would allow us to search more effectively."

"To hell with that. Why don't you get some of those people I hear milling around to help us?"

"They will not," Marcus said sadly. "Xander has declared you to be a danger to us. No one will harm you, but they can not help you either."

"Great," Jack replied scornfully. He turned his head away a bit. "CARTER! DANIEL!" he yelled, causing Marcus to jump.

"O'Neill?"

"Let's not assume the worst," Jack said, more to himself than his companions. Visions of Daniel's broken body, trapped as he had been on Shyla's world flitted through his brain. And he was pretty damn sure there was no convenient sarcophagus around this time.

Reading his intention, Teal'c lurched away. "Major Carter! Daniel Jackson!" he called down another of the tunnels.

Marcus followed suit and they all stood still, straining their ears for a reply.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam was dreaming. She was napping on a beach. The warm sun beat down on her back. The sound of gentle waves filled the air, pulsing in time with the beat of her heart. Maybe she could just...

"CARTER! DANIEL!"

Oh go away Colonel. I'm trying to sleep here.

"Major Carter! Daniel Jackson!"

Teal'c you spoilsport. Unless you've learned how to make a daiquiri...leave me alone.

"Major Carter! Daniel!"

Who? The voice sounded familiar. He...he didn't belong on her beach. He was from the planet. Oh God. The planet, the mine, the cave in.

"Colonel," she croaked, cursing the dust that coated her throat. She swallowed and tried again.

"Carter, Daniel. Can you hear me?"

Dammit. She couldn't yell loud enough. Her ribs along with the debris pinning her prevented her from drawing a deep enough breath to yell. She had to get his attention. She stretched out her left hand, searching the dirt. Nothing.

"Nothing. Let's just pick one." she heard the colonel say as his voice faded. No guys. I'm here. Don't go. Her fumbling fingers stumbled on a rock. She could use this. She wrapped her fist around it and picked it up. The wall. Twisting her arm she knocked the rock against the stone wall. Tap, tap, tap. Three short, three long, three short. SOS. The colonel would understand that. If he could hear it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Nothing. Let's just pick one," Jack said, randomly picking a direction. He felt Marcus grasp his arm and lead him down a cavern. He heard the slight echo of their footsteps change as the diameter of the tunnel changed. They didn't talk as they searched so Jack was able to hear Teal'c's occasional grunt of pain as his injured leg protested the movement. He heard the tiny pop and rustle of Marcus' torch, felt the subtle bit of heat on the un-bandaged parts of his face. He heard the minute flap of the healer's robes as he walked. The soft dragging sound of Teal'c's improvised crutch and...

"Wait," he said, stopping.

"O'Neill?"

"You hear that?"

Teal'c paused and listened. "I hear nothing."

"Listen. Tapping," he insisted. "O...S...O...S...SOS. Back," Jack turned. "That way," he indicated. Marcus grabbed his hand and they made their way back to the junction where Jack paused again.

"Which tunnel?" Marcus asked.

"I...It stopped. Carter! Daniel! We hear you. Keep it up," he ordered. He was rewarded by a slightly irregular tapping.

"I hear it too O'Neill."

Jack turned his head, trying to distinguish between sound and echo. "This one."

"I concur."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam tiredly let her hand fall. It was no use. They hadn't heard her. Maybe...maybe they'd come down this tunnel later. They'd eventually run into the same dead ends she had. It's not like she was going anywhere. She just had to keep breathing until they got here. Something that was getting harder and harder to do. Must be the weight of the rocks on top of her.

"Carter, Daniel. We hear you. Keep it up."

OK...she could keep it up. She raised her hand again, knocking the rock against the wall, abandoning her SOS and settling for a simple pattern.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"There," Teal'c said as the torch light illuminated a small movement.

"Carter?"

The tapping stopped. "Colonel," she said weakly, blinking her eyes against the brightness of the torch.

"Yeah," he said as Marcus led him forward. He squatted down beside her. "How ya doing?"

"I've aah...been better."

"Teal'c?"

"Major Carter is trapped by part of a fallen wall."

"You hurt?"

"Think I broke a couple of ribs. I just can't move."

Marcus stepped forward and examined the pile of rocks and dirt. "This has merely broken loose from the wall. It will not be too difficult to free her."

Jack nodded as Teal'c made his way forward, balancing his weight on one leg as he helped Marcus free Sam.

"Carter, what about Daniel?"

"He aah...we were exploring the tunnels, trying to find a way to the surface. It was his turn to look. He'd been gone a long time...I was just going to search for him when the...ground quake. I'm sorry sir, I lost him."

"Ah heck. Don't worry about it. Happens to me all the time. Do you have any idea where he was last?"

"Further down this tunnel...somewhere."

"Marcus!" they heard a voice call.

"Ratchel. Down here."

Teal'c paused in his work to see the older woman making her way towards them, trailed by two young men. "I hear you have taken to playing in the tunnels again old man," she said as she knelt beside Sam and Jack.

"I have more of a right to be here than you, you old crone," he snapped back.

"Admit it you old goat. You need my help," she retorted, not missing a beat. Moderately alarmed, Teal'c studied the pair. He grinned to himself. If these two were not mated, he had learned nothing in his 90 plus years of life.

"I hate to break this up but..."

"It is all right Colonel O'Neill. We will help you get your friend out of here," Ratchel assured. "Marcus, how many more are missing?"

"Just their friend, the one called Daniel. We think he is further down this tunnel," Marcus replied as, with the help of the two men, they removed the last bits of debris pinning Sam into place.

Relieved to finally be un-buried alive, she cautiously moved her legs and bit her lip as the pins and needles started.

"Anything broken Carter?"

"I don't think so sir...just sore."

"Is the tunnel collapsed beyond this point?" Ratchel asked, her voice rising in concern.

"We are not certain. However, I do know Daniel Jackson would have returned had he been able," Teal'c stated as he stepped back to allow the two young men to lift Sam onto the stretcher they had brought.

"Marcus, Xander was going to the temple right before the ground quake. If this tunnel has suffered damage..."

"Temple?" Jack asked.

"There is an ancient temple buried down here. We believe it is where our ancestors practiced their faith, hidden from the Dark One. Xander stumbled across it when he was but a boy. He halted work on this tunnel when it endangered the temple. Few of our people now even know of its existence."

"I'll bet you a weeks wages that's where Daniel got off to. He's attracted to ruins like bees are to honey," Jack said, getting to his feet. "Teal'c, why don't you go with Carter, back to the room. Marcus and I will look for Daniel and Xander."

"I'm coming with you," Ratchel said, getting to her feet also and brushing her hands off on her dress.

"Woman..." Marcus protested.

"Caleb, Joshua, take the strangers back to safety. Gently. Tell Dinah. Then return here. We may need your help if Daniel and Xander are trapped." The two young men nodded their assent and Ratchel watched her two surviving sons disappear down the tunnel. She turned back to Marcus and Jack. "Shall we go?" she asked as she walked past the two men, holding her flickering torch high.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daniel opened his eyes, slowly. Lazily. Almost as one would on a Sunday morning when you really weren't ready to face the world yet. He lay there for a few minutes watching the dust, illuminated by the two braziers, settling onto the floor. Watching the dust settle. He'd done this before. Lying with Shau'ri in his arms, content to just lie there for hours, holding her while she slept. Thoroughly enjoying the unaccustomed feeling of sleeping with a person. It wasn't just sex, it was that contented feeling of wrapping your arms around another person, feeling her heart beat. Watching her dream. It'd been three years and he still couldn't get used to sleeping alone. Three years and he still found himself trying to stay awake so he wouldn't have to wake up by himself. Some mornings he caught himself reaching out his arm, searching his empty bed for her.

He'd come to terms with her death. Teal'c had done the right thing. She would have preferred death to eternity as a slave. Now instead of pain he could lie in bed and watch the dust settle, feeling a contented sort of peace. Losing himself in the year's worth of good memories he had.

But...this was wrong. There were no braziers in his bedroom. And...his bed was softer...a LOT softer than what he was lying on now.

He turned his head, abandoning the floating dust and the memories it triggered and took in his surroundings.

The temple. That's right. He and Xander were in the temple when there was another ground quake. Most of the room was intact. The ceiling hadn't collapsed like last time. Some of the stone benches had been tipped over and many of the tapestries and un-lit torches were lying scattered on the floor. He and Xander had been lucky. Wait...Xander.

Daniel forced himself up, hissing through his teeth as he discovered several new bruises and sore spots. Janet was going to have a ball when he got back. Experimentally he stretched, relieved when the pain didn't pass the aspirin level. That was a good thing. He'd left his morphine in his other pants.

He was lying beside the solid stone altar where he and Xander had landed. "Xander," he said as he slowly gained his feet. Hearing an answering moan, he turned and stopped dead at the sight. Xander too was lying against the altar, and under a missive slab of rock. It was partially propped on the altar and had come to rest in such a way that had the man landed a few inches in any direction, he would have been crushed. "Xander? Are you OK?" he asked as he knelt beside the him.

"What?" he asked in a daze as he lifted a slightly bloody gaze to Daniel.

"Can you move?"

"What happened?"

"Part of the building collapsed. Are you hurt?"

"No...I...what are you doing here?" he asked as Daniel heard an ominous snap. He turned his head and watched in morbid fascination as a crack appeared in the side of the altar. He watched it start to streak its way down the structure, branching and splintering as it went.

"Come on! You need to move!" Daniel ordered as he grabbed the man's hand and started to pull.

"What are you doing?" Xander asked, thoroughly puzzled by the man's odd behavior. First he defiled the temple, now he was assaulting him?

"Just move!" Daniel yelled, taking Xander's hand in a bruising grip and pulling with all his strength. Xander popped free of his prison and flew forward, sending Daniel to his back with the other man on top of him.

Outraged, Xander scrambled to his feet, rubbing his reddening wrists. "Are you mad? And I was just starting to think I was wrong about you and your friends. I was thinking about letting you leave but now..."

His threat remained un-voiced as the fractured stone of the altar gave way and the slab fell to the floor with an ear-splitting crash.

Daniel slowly sat up, his hands shaking a bit as the last of the adrenaline faded away.

"You...I would have been killed," Xander mumbled, stepping towards the altar that had nearly become his tomb.

"You're welcome," Daniel quipped, getting to his feet, a grimace crossing his face. "At least the WHOLE ceiling didn't fall in," he muttered. Not wishing to press their luck he made his way to the door, intent on making their escape. He still didn't know how he was going to explain his presence in the temple to the man. Although he figured his and Sam's escape plans were pretty much a wash. Maybe he could convince Xander to just let them go. He had sorta saved the man's life after all, that had to count for something.

He just knew they needed to get out of here. This most recent ground quake made two in less than 48 hours. Those were rotten odds. He opened the door and closed his eyes in frustration. " Oh for crying out loud," he muttered as he saw the large pile of debris totally blocking the tunnel. Guess we're going to have to take the back door. He turned on his heel and crossed the chamber again. " Xander, we need to get out of here." Getting no response he stepped beside the kneeling man. "Xander, the main passage is blocked. This place isn't safe anymore. Come on," he urged, tugging slightly on the man's sleeve.

Xander merely ignored him. Wondering what had so captured his attention, Daniel followed his gaze and felt his jaw drop. "Oh my God," he whispered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam sighed in relief when the two men gently set her stretcher down. She knew they were being as careful as possible but right now her ribs felt like driftwood floating in the surf, each step causing them to move. What was it the colonel had once said, you wouldn't think jagged bone digging into raw nerves would hurt but it does.

Not really caring about her surroundings, she closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing. An act that hadn't gotten any easier with the removal of the debris. She knew something else had to be wrong. Maybe if she just slept it would get better.

"Major Carter." She forced her eyes open. "I have water," he said as he gently raised her head.

Sam gratefully sipped some of the refreshing liquid. "Thanks," she whispered.

"How severely damaged are your ribs?"

"Almost as bad as your leg was. Too bad I can't borrow Junior for a while."

"If that were physically possible, I would willingly give it to you."

"I know. Thanks." Biting her lip against the pain, Sam cautiously unzipped her jacket and drew out the GDO she had stuffed into the inner pocket earlier that day. "Maybe you should hang onto this. I don't seem to be having much luck with them right now."

He accepted the device and carefully stashed it in his pocket. He saw her close her eyes. After a few minutes he checked her pulse, alarmed to find it thready and her skin cool and clammy. It was as he had feared. There was far more wrong with his friend than simple broken ribs.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ratchel felt her heart sink as her torch revealed a pile of dirt and stones where the tunnel should be.

"What?" Jack asked as Marcus stopped with a muttered curse.

"The tunnel has collapsed," he reported. "Unlike before, part of the ceiling has fallen in."

"And this means?"

"We are very near the end of this tunnel. With the amount of material I see, it is most likely Daniel is crushed under the rubble. If he happens to be in an air pocket, it is very small. Colonel O' Neill, I am afraid it is most likely your friend is dead."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What is it?" Xander breathed, reaching out his hand to touch the glittering gold relic.

"Aah Xander. If that's what I think it is. You better not touch it," Daniel whispered, reaching out to stay the man's questing hand.

"What? Why not?" Xander asked, confused.

"Um...I don't believe I'm going to say this but...aah...I'm pretty sure this is one of two Lost Arks," he whispered, staring in disbelief at the golden artifact peeking out through the shattered altar. Even in the dim light of the braziers, the glint of gold was unmistakable.

Daniel stepped a bit closer and knelt down to see a pair of cherubim kneeling on the crenellated top. He caught sight of his own trembling fingers reaching towards the box. Remembering Professor Jones' old lecture, he shoved his wandering hands into his pockets.

"Ark?"

"Aah...yeah. OK. According to legend Moses received two tablets of law from...God. He came off Mount Sinai and saw his people...well having a heck of a party. He got mad and smashed the stones. He went back later and made another set of tablets. According to some people, there were originally two arks, two vessels made, one to carry the original, broken, stones carved by God and one to carry the ones Moses made. They made the boxes out of...acacia wood I think and overlaid it with gold. It had a crenellated top and two cherubim on top. They put rings on the corners so they could carry it without touching it," he recited, pulling back Xander's outstretched arm again. "According to the Bible, touching it is death and I've seen a few too many 'Gods' up and walking around to just dismiss it."

"I don't understand. It's beautiful. But...it's a box."

"It's not just the box. It's what's inside that's important. In it, among other things, is supposed to be the broken pieces of the original Ten Commandments given to Moses by God. The GOD. Think the Dark One's arch enemy. Legend says any army that carries this into battle with them is invincible."

"That part might be wrong," Xander said wryly.

"Why?"

"If this truly made us invincible, would we have been taken from our homeland and set to work as slaves?"

"Good point," Daniel conceded. "Still...people on my planet have been searching for this for millennia. It's..." Daniel chuckled, "incredible. Every archaeologist's dream and I tripped over it."

"And let me guess. Like our...Naquadah, you would like to 'trade' for this," Xander said scornfully.

"Well...actually no," Daniel lied. "This...belongs with you and your people," he said, really hoping no giant lightning bolt could come down and strike him dead for lying in the presence of what many considered to be the holiest of all holy artifacts. "Actually Xander...I would like nothing more than to bring the Ark and your people home. But I can't. First of all, the only way to explain its sudden reappearance would be to tell the world about the stargate. Not to mention the holy wars its presence would start." 'And let's not forget how much fun the NID would have with it,' he thought. He still got chills whenever he thought about all they could be doing with his 'meaning of life stuff' SG-1 had brought back from Earnest's planet.

"Well then, what is stopping you from taking it? I've seen the weapons you carry. You could take whatever you want from us and we could do little to stop you."

"First of all Xander, we don't work that way. Second, we're sorta buried alive down here and like a good friend of mine once said, what good is solving the mysteries of the universe if you have no one to share it with. And last...This Ark has been safe with your people for millennia...I'm afraid the people of my world would just...ruin it."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack sat on the ground, his knees drawn up. His elbows were propped on his knees and he was twiddling his thumbs...literally.

Caleb and Joshua had returned a while ago and were helping Marcus dig their way carefully through the pile of dirt blocking the end of the tunnel.

He refused to believe Daniel was under there. There was just no way he'd survived all they'd been through only to be killed by a miserable pile of rocks.

Jack knew he was pushing Marcus' patience by insisting they search, but he just couldn't give up on Daniel. Not yet. He'd done that too many time before.

For a few seconds on that first trip to Abydos he'd been 100 convinced the geek was going to kill him. Then after Oannes, hell he'd even eulogized the guy for crying out loud.

Worse than that, he'd left him behind to slowly die in agony on Klorel's ship. Daniel had been 'missing' for days, knocked out of phase by that damned crystal skull. And most recently carted off by an Unas, supposedly to be the guest of honor at a banquet. Although he was also slated to be the main course.

But, at least Jack had learned something. He hadn't given up on him the last two times. He'd cut his arm off before he ever admitted it, but Carter had been right. Jack had had the same 'goose walking on his grave' feelings all the time Daniel had been out of phase. And on that planet...he just knew if anyone could come out of it alive and un-goa'ulded, it would be Daniel.

As positive as he had been years before that Daniel was dead, he's just known he was still alive, just...misplaced.

He felt the same feeling now. There was no freaking way Danny boy was under there.

A clatter of dirt drew Jack's attention outward.

"Father, the debris goes back to the tunnel's end," Caleb reported as Joshua brushed the dirt out of his hair.

"I'm sorry father. If he is down there, he is dead."

Marcus thanked his sons and made his way to Jack. "Colonel O'Neill. I...I am sorry but if Daniel is under those rocks...he was most likely killed instantly. I know this is difficult but...we need to search for Xander. He may still be alive. We will return and...find Daniel."

Jack sighed and ran his fingers through his short, dirty hair. "OK," he said, holding his hand out. Marcus grasped it and pulled him to his feet. "Though I wouldn't give up on him just yet."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daniel sat on the floor, leading his back against one of the benches. He stared in fascination at the golden box. It actually looked a lot like a prop from a movie he'd once seen. The golden surface was covered with delicate carvings. Carvings a part of him longed to decipher and just as big a part of him was afraid to. He knew he had a bad habit of reading with his hands as Jack called it. And there was a better than average chance that the legend WAS true and to touch the Ark was death. He'd already caught himself trying to feel it...too many times.

That was why he was sitting five yards away. Even at a distance, he still felt drawn to the Ark like a moth to a flame.

This was...incredible. Unbelievable. The Ark was one of those relics every archaeologist dreamed of finding. Like a person dreamed of buying the winning lottery ticket. Or when you wandered through a flea market just hoping to come across a lost Picasso or rare Roman coin. You dreamed of it, but knew it was pretty darned unlikely.

He'd first become interested in the Ark when one of his professors had pointed out an odd coincidence. The dimensions of the Ark were exactly the same as a stone chest found by Howard Carter in the King's Chamber in the Great Pyramid. That bit of trivia had started him looking for other odd coincidences and had given him the idea, that despite the distances of space and centuries, that maybe there was something linking many of the ancient cultures together.

Of course, at the time, the idea that an alien race could be behind it all was just a tad unbelievable.

"Xander, would you please sit down," he begged, getting tired of watching the young man pace incessantly.

"Sit down? We are trapped here. No one knows where we are and you want me to just sit down?"

"Yes. Look, we just might be stuck here for a while. We have no food or water and I have no idea if we're getting any fresh air. Please, Xander. Just sit down."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Teal'c reached out his hand and checked his team mate's pulse. He frowned as he found it barely perceptible beneath his fingers. Instead of a slow, steady rhythm of a human at rest, hers was fast and slightly irregular, like the beating of a butterfly's wings under his fingertips.

Her breathing was shallow and, even in the dim light, he could see a faint bluish tinge creeping up her pale face.

He took off his jacket and laid it over her, though he admitted she was probably beyond even being able to feel the gesture. She was dying. In minutes, perhaps a couple of hours.

He felt frustration warring with sadness at his friend's impending death. He was as responsible for Major Carter's injury as if he had harmed her himself.

It had been his suggestion that they split up from the others. He had failed to see the unstable ground that caused them to fall into these caves. If his leg had not been broken, they would have been able to elude the natives. Or failing that, been able to escape before the second tragic ground quake. Maybe if he had been able to work beside her and Daniel Jackson, they might not be in the dire straits they were in now.

And there was nothing he could do about it. Even if the natives were to release them right now, there was no way to get Major Carter to the gate...alive.

The only option left to him was to maintain his vigil, to insure his friend did not die alone. And then to get her home. It was the very least he could do. He had failed in his promise to himself to keep them safe, and he would not fail in this.

He looked up, blinking a tear from his eyes, as two men came into the chamber. He watched them purposefully cross the room towards him.

"What do you want?" he asked as the pair moved into position and lifted Sam's stretcher. "You will not take my friend," he stated as he struggled to his feet. The duo merely looked at each other and started towards the open door.

Teal'c once again pressed his staff weapon into service as a crutch and resolutely followed them, vowing violence should they do anything to prevent him from being at Major Carter's side.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack once again found himself in the unenviable position of sitting on the sidelines while Marcus, Ratchel and their sons worked to clear away the rubble blocking the passageway.

At first he'd tried to help. But had soon stopped when he'd blindly pulled loose a rock...one that had been supporting about fifty others and had started a miniature landslide.

So now he was remaining here more as moral support than actual help.

And also to remind them, once they found Xander, they were going back for Danny, if he had to dig him out with his bare hands.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Daniel shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders. It was getting distinctly chilly in the temple. The fuel on the braziers was nearly gone. Not that that was a bad thing. He knew he would miss the light and slight bit of warmth they provided, but he would miss the oxygen they consumed even more. Over the past pew hours he realized his worst fears were true. The cave ins had not only cut off their escape routes, but also their air supply. He was sure if Sam was in here with him and Xander she could crunch a few numbers and predict exactly how much air the room contained and how long it would last...probably down to the second. Just like she and Dr. Markov had done on that sub. 'Think I'll pass on the countdown Sam,' he thought as he tried to relax. All in all, suffocation wasn't a BAD way to go. He'd heard it was a lot like drowning, sorta peaceful and relatively painless. You just fell asleep, except you never woke up of course. In a weird sort of way he was a little glad they would suffocate. He remembered the room full of dead Lindris they had found. Later, Janet said it had probably taken them days, maybe a week or so to die. They'd been trapped, forced to slowly starve and dehydrate to death.

Shaking himself out of his morbid thoughts he looked over to his companion. Xander was lying on one of the benches, presumably asleep. Once the man's brief bout of frustration had passed, he had grudgingly admitted Daniel was right. Trapped as they were there was little they could do but wait.

Wait for either rescue or death.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

"This tunnel is blocked as well father," Caleb reported. Jack felt his heart sink as the young man's words.

"How bad?"

"I would estimate 10 cubits."

"Aaah?"

"Approximately three of your body lengths," Ratchel translated.

Jack did a bit of mental math. "So between 15 and 18 feet."

"Yes I suppose."

Jack bit back a groan as he tried to calculate how long it would take the five...OK four of them to move nearly 15 solid feet of dirt and rocks. Too long. Days, possibly weeks.

"Look, I hate to be Mr. Negative here, but we need help."

"And you shall have it." Jack heard from behind him. Marcus turned to see Ahron, the head elder leading a group of people. "Is it true Xander may be trapped?"

"Yes."

"Then we shall help," the man stated.

Jack heard a seemingly ceaseless trail of footsteps go past him.

"Colonel O'Neill," Ahron said, pausing in front of him.

"Yes?"

"We have committed a great wrong against you and your friends. I'm afraid there is little we can do to change the past, but some of our people are digging in the other tunnel. We shall recover your friend," he pledged, his voice genuinely sincere.

"Thanks," Jack whispered as the man left him, calling out a few orders to make the whole procedure work more smoothly.

Thanks for coming to your senses too freaking late to save my friend.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Teal'c hobbled behind the two men carrying his team mate. He wondered why they had done nothing to stop him. Ever since he crossed the threshold of the cell he half expected to find himself at the business end of a sword.

But there had been nothing, almost as though they no longer cared if he walked about freely.

He trailed the two men though passageways he hadn't been down before. Not that he and Major Carter had had much time to explore the complex.

They paused before an ornate door. Seemingly of its own volition the door swung open, warm light spilling out into the suddenly dim subterranean passage. Teal'c followed the duo into the room and felt he had been transported into a set from a movie Daniel Jackson had made him watch, Arabian Nights.

Several braziers liked the walls, drying the damp air and almost making the chambers warm. The room was divided into sections by several hanging curtains or woven partitions.

The two men carried their burden towards the center of the room and set her down. As wordlessly as they had come, they left, leaving the two members of SG-1 alone.

He painfully lowered himself to the floor by his friend's side and again checked her condition. He closed his eyes in a moment of grateful relief when he found her to still be alive.

"Ratchel tells me you have quite a tale to tell." Teal'c heard from behind one of the curtains. Recognizing the voice he turned his head to see Dinah slowly walking towards him.

"To what are you referring?" he asked the elderly ex-queen of Sokar as she joined him at Sam's side. He knew little of the woman from his time before the Tau'ri. Sokar had managed to keep his queen in seclusion. Most of the time. If whispered Jaffa rumors were true, a long ago dalliance with Apophis had proved to be her undoing and had set Apophis back in his quest for power nearly half a century. A set back he had just been beginning to recover from when he encountered the Tau'ri.

There was a rumor that, as punishment for her infidelity, she had spent time on the surface of Netu...as one of the damned.

"That you and your friends really do mean us no harm. That you have journeyed to Netu. That you rescued one of the denizens and ultimately destroyed...that place."

Wondering briefly if his next words would aid or condemn them, Teal'c decided to tell the truth.

"Yes, we did journey to Netu and rescue one of the captives there, Major Carter's father. The moon was destroyed. It is possible Sokar also perished but of that we cannot be certain."

He saw her close her eyes as a look of relief tinged with satisfaction crossed her time worn features. "Good," she said, her heart-felt emotions unmistakable. "And this woman, Major Carter, she was host to Jolinar?"

"Yes. She was blended with Jolinar of Malkshur over two years ago."

"Where is Jolinar now? Has she found a new host?" Dinah asked, interest vibrant in her peridot eyes.

"Regrettably Major Carter and Jolinar were attacked by an Ash'rak. Jolinar perished saving Major Carter's life."

At his words Dinah reached out a slightly gnarled hand and gently touched Sam's head. "I was afraid of that the moment Major Carter said she 'was a host'," she said softly.

Teal'c shot the woman an appraising look. "You said Sokar had spoken of Jolinar, however that was not the truth was it?"

"Very intuitive. My...husband did speak of her. Yet I knew her."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She felt the Jaffa drag her up the stairs. One of her delicate golden sandals slipped off her foot and fell down the marble steps with a tiny clatter, barely perceptible over the rhythmic clang of the Jaffa's boots.

Mere days ago she would have mourned its loss. Now she knew she would not need it much longer.

They dropped her to the floor, much as one would drop a piece of rubbish onto a pile.

She wanted to move, to get away but she could not. Her symbiote was stretched to its physical limits. Dinah knew Delilah had to heal herself first.

She clenched her eyes shut as they were assaulted by a brilliant flash of light. She felt her heart sink as the unmistakable whine of the transport rings filled her ears.

She briefly prayed to whatever real deity there was in the universe for strength as she was transported to hell.

"SHAKA!" She heard a voice order harshly as she felt the cruel, abusing hands drop her, this time to the hot, stinking dirt of the prison floor.

Too weary, her spirit too broken to care, she didn't try to move. There was no fight left in her. Bynarr had taken care of that.

She felt Delilah still clinging to life, still harboring hope. 'Just let go. Let us die,' she begged. But Delilah refused. And with every refusal Dinah felt a seed of hate grow with in her. Hate that strengthened her.

She felt a gentle hand on her brow and cringed away, fearing more pain.

"Ssh. It is all right. I will not hurt you." she heard a gentle voice say.

She forced open swollen eyes and tried to make them focus on the woman kneeling before her. In the red-tinged dimness of the tunnel she could barely make out blond hair surrounding a pale, grubby face. Hands again reached out and again she felt herself flinch. "Easy. It is water," the woman said, displaying the proffered cup. She wondered for a second if the woman was going to poison her, but feeling the parched dryness of her mouth, decided it didn't matter. The woman lifted her head and helped her drink. When the cup was empty, she laid back down.

"Who?" she whispered through bleeding lips.

"My name is Jolinar and it looks like we are going to be room mates for a while."

During the next weeks the two women made a pact and forged an alliance. One that had little to do with politics and more with survival. The two women and their symbiotes became partners. They gave each other the strength to survive.

The food one found, they both ate. As a pair, they made a less attractive target for the denizens intent on...mischief. When one was taken away and tortured, the other would wait, torn between wanting their friend back and dreading the injuries they would see.

Finally the day came when Jolinar was returned so severely tortured Dinah feared she would not survive. She knew why. Bynarr had finally realized if he broke one of them, he broke them both.

Making her decision, Dinah whispered a secret to Jolinar, the one weakness of Netu. Then she went to Bynarr, not as Dinah the prisoner, but as Delilah, Queen of Sokar.

She humbled herself and begged for her husband's mercy. Surprisingly enough he granted it and she rejoined him at his side. The knowledge that her new found friend might escape giving her the strength to tolerate his casual cruelties, his degradations.

The joy she and Dinah felt when they heard of Jolinar's successful escape had been boundless. If she could not have her freedom and return to her love, someone deserved to.

She had again prayed to the deities that Jolinar and Rosha would survive and be reunited with their soul mates, Martouf and Lantash.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Tell me Teal'c. Did Jolinar make it back to the Tok'ra? Was she and Rosha reunited with Martouf and Lantash?"

"Yes," Teal'c answered simply, somehow sensing the woman did not need to know of the tragic fate of the pair.

"Good," Dinah smiled. She reached into a pouch at her waist and drew out a healing device, one of the few pieces of her former life she had kept.

Teal'c watched her activate it and felt the heavy weight of his guilt ease as he heard Major Carter breathe normally for the first time in hours.

The miraculous device snapped off and Dinah let her hand drop, visibly weakened.

"She has lost a lot of blood, which I can not repair and her legs are badly bruised from being buried. I can repair that and your leg in a little while. I am afraid my desires sometimes outweigh my strength," Dinah said wryly.

Sam slowly opened her eyes, trying to make sense of her surroundings. When exactly had their prison turned into a palace?

"Teal'c?" she asked as she tried to sit up, a questioning hand straying to her ribs. OK, not even morphine kicked pain this good. Her partner lent a supporting hand and Sam was soon sitting up. She looked at the exhausted woman next to her. Her eyes strayed to the device still clasped loosely in Dinah's right hand and put two and two together. "You healed me?"

The elderly woman merely shook her head. "I have repaid a kindness," she replied.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

"Colonel O'Neill." A quiet voice and a hand on his shoulder woke Jack from the light doze he had been in. What? Dammit he'd fallen asleep? What the hell kinda friend was he to fall asleep when his friend was in danger?

"Colonel. We recovered the body from the other tunnel." Oh God. No...It...it wasn't supposed to end like this. Daniel was supposed to be OK. Maybe a bit battered and bruised but OK. He wasn't supposed to die.

"Can...aah...Can I see him?"

"Of course," the voice replied kindly. The same hands helped him to his feet and led him forward. They guided his questing fingers to the person on the stretcher.

Jack forced himself not to recoil from the feeling of cold flesh beneath his fingertips. He traced the features lightly, almost tentatively. Dammit Daniel you weren't supposed...he stopped his explorations as his fingers tangled in the man's hair. Hair. Danny's hair wasn't this long. Not for more than a year now. It...Oh Got it wasn't him.

"Eben," he heard Ratchel say, no great amount of sorrow in her voice.

"Who?" Jack asked, trying to keep the elation he felt out of his voice.

"This is...was Eben. Peder said Major Carter was arguing with him right before the ground quake."

"Did...aah...did they find any other bodies in the tunnel?"

"No. This was the only one," the man reported.

"Jothan, take him back to the settlement. Inform his family," Ratchel instructed. "Colonel O'Neill, perhaps Major Carter was mistaken. Maybe Daniel is in another tunnel. Maybe he made his escape?"

"No." Jack shook his head. "He's down here...somewhere."

XXXXXXXXXXXXx

The sound of his ragged breathing was ominously loud in the darkness. Was it darkness or had oxygen starvation stolen his vision as well as his ability to move?

He didn't know. Not that it mattered. He'd be dead in a few minutes anyway.

They were wrong. Those folk who said suffocating was the way to go. It wasn't. He had tried to fall asleep...but he couldn't. Maybe if he'd been ignorant of the situation, sleep would have come.

Of all the times he'd died he figured he preferred the one on the Nox homeworld the most. Just a quick flash of pain and shock and then darkness. No time for regrets. No time for 'what ifs'. He'd literally died before he'd even realized he'd been shot.

Yeah they were wrong. Quicker was better.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We're through," Caleb called triumphantly. Amid the excited murmuring, Jack pushed himself to his feet and made his way forward, unknowing of how the workers parted to permit him to pass. Over the last twelve hours many of them had been impressed by the man who maintained his vigil as they worked to rescue one of their own, not complaining about the fact that his friend was still missing.

Jack heard the creak of stressed hinges and felt a tiny gust of cold air as the doors of the temple were pushed open. He and several others coughed as some of the dead air spilled out into the tunnel.

"I think I see something," Caleb said. Jack heard him scrabble over the debris. He heard a soft curse and the dull clatter of a torch falling. Within minutes he heard Caleb returning.

"Xander," Ratchel said. The workers gently pushed Jack aside to relieve Caleb of his burden. He felt them convey the man past them, away from the poisonous air of the temple.

"Caleb," Marcus called urgently. "It is poison in there."

"There is another," Caleb replied between deep gasping breaths, much like a swimmer would take before a dive.

"Another? But Xander permits no one else in the temple."

It was longer this time before Caleb returned. So long Jack feared they would be recovering three bodies. Finally there was a grunt as Caleb made it to the doorway and the relative safety of the passageway.

"Daniel?" he heard Marcus say.

"What?" Jack asked sharply, pushing his way forward. "Danny?" He tried to make his way to his friend's side but was thwarted as the workers conveyed Daniel away, just as they had Xander. "DANIEL!" he called louder. To hell with it. Where were they taking him? Was he still alive?

"Colonel. It is all right. He is alive. As is Xander," Marcus hurried to reassure Jack. "Come, I'll take you to him."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daniel opened his eyes and frowned. Despite the many times he'd nearly been on a first name basis with St. Peter...he still thought heaven would be a bit more upscale that this. He eased himself to a sitting position and observed the room. Assuming the lack of windows was because there was nothing to see, he figured he was still underground.

Giving into a moment of insecurity he checked his pulse. Yep. It was still there. OK, that ruled out being dead.

"So Danny boy. You sure are a sight for sore eyes." Daniel turned to face the unusually cheerful voice of Jack O'Neill. His friend was sitting a few feet away, his booted feet propped up on a small table, looking almost as comfortable as he would look in his own living room.

"Jack. Your eyes," he said taking in the sight of his friend's face, marred by a few minor scratches but without bandages.

Jack got up from his seat, sauntered across the small room and sat on the edge of Daniel's bed. "All fixed. It aah...it seems there was something in my eyes. According to Marcus your bandaging them kept the damage to a minimum and that Dinah woman was able to fix it with her healing thingie. She fixed your arm too," Jack said softly.

"That's...that's great Jack," Daniel replied, knowing this was as good as an effusive thanks in Jack speak. "How are Sam and Teal'c?"

Jack shrugged. "Teal'c's off helping these folk move to the surface. Since good ole Sokar just might be dead, they decided to stop hiding here. Carter's talking to Dinah. Seems she's got a little Shirley Maclain syndrome going on. Jolinar and Dinah used to know each other. I just got back from contacting the SGC and telling them we were still alive and not to lock us out. And from what I hear, Xander's been waiting impatiently to talk to you. About something you guys found," Jack said, his tone indicating he was doing a little fishing, wanting to know more about what they'd found yet not wanting to act like he wanted to know.

"Oh yeah. It was..." Daniel started, excited to finally be able to share his discovery with someone who at least had an idea of the magnitude of his find. Or would ACT like he did.

'What's our primary mission Carter?'

'To find technology and allies to help us fight the Goa'uld.'

The army that carries this before them into battle is said to be invincible.

It's on a need to know basis Doctor. And you don't need to know.

A sealed crate in a government storage facility, found but still lost.

'They're working on the stuff you brought back. Real meaning of life stuff.'

"...just some artifacts Jack. More evidence that these people came from Earth," he finished. As soon as the lie left his lips he felt a sort of contented peace flow over him.

Legend also say the Lost Ark will remain lost until such time as it...or you could think God decides it is ready to be found.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Three days later the inhabitants of PXN913 escorted their new found allies to the stargate, reveling in the fresh air and sunlight of the surface of their world for the first time in a generation

"You have the addresses I gave you?" Sam asked Dinah.

"Yes Samantha," she answered indulgently.

"Just remember, the first one is Earth. You can't come through. We have defenses in place that will kill you, but if you toss some of your Naquadah through we'll know it's you and come and visit. The second address is to the Land of Light. If the ground quakes get too bad you can go there. We'll contact Tuplo and warn him you might be coming."

"I will remember. And you remember to practice with your healing device as I showed you."

Sam nodded.

"We'll be sending some people to check up on you from time to time," Jack told Marcus. "Dinah knows how to contact us if you need us."

"They are welcome here, as are you," Marcus replied as Ratchel joined him.

"Thank you my friend," Xander said, holding out his hand to Daniel who took and shook it.

"No thank you," he contradicted.

"For what? Imprisoning you and nearly getting you killed?"

"No." Daniel looked to make sure the others were out of ear shot. "For allowing me to fulfill a fantasy," he said, a smile creeping across his face. After sleeping on his decision he knew he had made the right choice. Earth, heck mankind wasn't ready for the Ark to be found. "I...aah I hope you put it in a safe place."

Xander smiled. "Yes. We removed it from the temple and placed it by the bones of Shimon."

"Shimon?"

"He was our first leader. His bones along with the rest of the first generation await the day when they may return to the land of our ancestors."

"You know...you could do that now," Daniel offered. "You and your people could come with us to Earth."

Xander shook his head. "No. Dinah can not leave this world and we will not leave without her. Perhaps when her time comes we may take you up on your offer. But for now, this is our home."

"I understand."

"Come on kids. If we miss this deadline Hammond's gonna have us doing UAV retrievals for the next month. Major, wanna dial us up?"

With a last good-bye, Sam and Teal'c made their way to the DHD and started dialing home, Daniel and Jack following.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"You never did tell me what was on that temple wall that you thought I would want to see," Daniel asked.

"Temple...ooh THAT temple. It's nothing,"

"Didn't sound like nothing at the time."

"Nah. It's silly"

"I promise I won't laugh. What?"

"Well...I dunno, maybe I've seen too many movies but I'd swear one of those paintings looked EXACTLY like the one from 'The Last Crusade'. You remember when Indy and Elsa are in the catacombs and she finds this carving representing the Lost Ark," Jack said, sheepishly.

"Well, that's not SILLY. Pretty unlikely though. I mean what would the Lost Ark of the Covenant be doing on PXN913 anyway?" Daniel replied innocently as they followed Teal'c and Sam through the gate and home.

fin


End file.
